


The Rise of Cyclops

by CanuckleheadCowgirl, magnetocerebro



Series: 907 Universe [2]
Category: Avengers (Comics), X-Men (comics)
Genre: Also - Logan needs to be happy, Gen, Just had to start a little sooner in his life, and I am totally biased on my ship, at least I'm not alone, it's going to be FINE, still on my quest for Scott Summers/Happiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-03-03 14:43:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 123,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13343397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanuckleheadCowgirl/pseuds/CanuckleheadCowgirl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnetocerebro/pseuds/magnetocerebro
Summary: We pick up right where we left off with our intrepid heroes on the run from Weapon X, who would love to get their dirty hands on every one of them. Scott is trying not to show how much he loves the new dynamic of their group as it has shifted ever so slightly from a ramshackle duo to a trouble-magnet trio.Can Scott master his optic blasts with a little guidance, or is it beyond what the ferals have to offer?





	1. Advanced Evasion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [magnetocerebro](https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnetocerebro/gifts).



> Yes! Another volume of youngscott being mentored by Wolverine - what more could a person ask for? 
> 
> I have to say - I started this out as a gift to magnetocerebro, but the truth of it is that she has been integral in making sure that Scott sounds like Scott - and that I don't push him TOO hard. (he is temperamental sometimes) so ... as a nod to her - she absolutely had SO MUCH to do with this - and continues to lend me her guidance in all things Summersy. <3 
> 
> It's all your fault, MC. Had to make it public.

The pick up truck was silent for a long while, and after several hours had passed, and the sun had finally broken over the horizon line, K turned to Logan and bit her lip, simply watching him for a long while. "We need to pull over for just a minute," she said.

"Choppers fell back," Logan said with a nod, and in short order Logan found a fairly well hidden turn out not far into Pennsylvania, near the Michaux State forest. As soon as he'd turned the truck off, K slipped out of the passenger seat and then went directly under the truck. Logan reached down to release the hood and got out to look in the engine compartment, and Scott found his way out of the backseat to see what they were up to, though by now, he knew - it was a scan for bugs, tracers - anything electronic that would allow SHIELD or Stark to track them.

"Did they really think that would work?" Scott asked as Logan pulled one that had been attached near the windshield wiper fluid reservoir.

"Likely not - which is why we're not stopping at just finding one," Logan said. He handed the little device to Scott and then stepped up on the bumper to look into the harder to see spots for someone of his height. Logan had one hand on the top of the air filter box as he leaned forward - and pulled another tracer off of the EGR valve. "Two up here anyhow," he said - though Scott was sure it wasn't for him to hear.

"I have three," K replied before there was a sizzling hiss and she swore outright.

"Things are hot down there," Logan said dryly, though he winced when he did exactly the same thing on the engine block.

"Thanks for the tip," K sang back. "Never would have guessed."

Scott smirked to himself and simply stood back when Logan finished up, with another one that had been on the backside of the oil cap. All told, there were nearly a dozen by the time the three of them finished looking through the cab of the truck - and the bed too. Scott shook his head to himself. He wasn't surprised when he thought about it. This was SHIELD, after all. They had more resources than just about anyone else. Of  _course_  they were going to bug the living daylights out of a vehicle that they'd just handed over to two ex-weapons and a kid. Who wouldn't?

"What are you going to do with them?" Scott asked, as he counted up the ones in his hand.

Leave 'em here," Logan said. "All together. You can bet Coulson's expecting us to ditch 'em."

"He absolutely is," K agreed. "So let's not disappoint him."

Logan handled the tracers, and K started digging through their clothes, going over them with a fine toothed combs and looking for any scent other than clean clothes. But it gave Scott and K chance to be alone for a few moments.

"This is infinitely better than staying with Tony," K said before Scott could get to even speaking. Not that he was sure he knew what to say. "Thanks for waiting for me."

"We … were rushed out because of my mistake," Scott pointed out, but already, K was shaking her head.

"No, no," K said, resting a hand on his arm. "No, that saved me from having to try to explain  _again_ to Tony why no, I was not that interested in him. That was miraculous timing." She squeezed his arm and smiled at him. "So even if it was an accident, I'm still sticking with divine intervention."

Scott looked pleasantly surprised for a moment, then smiled back at her with a nod. "Okay. Good."

K gave him a little smile - one of those that always meant something fun was going to happen back when they'd worked at the cafe - with light dancing in her eyes. "So. Let's hope that we can keep under the radar, huh?"

"Yeah," Scott agreed, unable not to return the smile - but still feeling that anxious twinge in his chest that hadn't eased up since his little loss of control at Starks.

K pointed to him quickly and tipped her head toward the truck. "No glow," she told him before she climbed into the front seat. "I know you were a little anxious. I just … thought I'd reassure you on that. Especially since it sounded like you couldn't tell if you were still glowing back when we were by Steve and Tony."

Scott rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, shrugging slightly. "I don't know how to control that. And seeing as the glasses are red too, how am I supposed to tell?"

"Well, maybe you'll get more control when you figure out how to turn it on and off," she said with a little smile as Logan returned to the truck and took his seat behind the wheel.

In short order, the three of them were back on the road, headed deeper into Pennsylvania - purposely to skirt well around Washington DC on their way to South Carolina. They didn't need to explain the reasoning as to why - Scott was already sure he knew once he saw that both of them had pointed out an alternate route from the more direct route that Steve had suggested. Not that either Logan or K pointed it out to the other until they were well away from Steve and the rest of SHIELD.

"We're not going to be here for long," Logan said, though who he was directing it toward was anyone's guess. "The spot that Coulson picked is more of a vacation area than anything."

"Wait … are you saying a SHIELD Agent sent us on a vacation?" Scott asked in a disbelieving tone before he turned to look at K. "Is this normal?"

She looked between the two of them and shrugged. "What? They didn't give you a little mini vacation last time they moved you?"

"No," Logan answered, shaking his head at her. "You got that old boy wrapped around your finger. Is that a common issue for you? Getting guys to fall at your feet like that?"

"Okay, let's get something straight," K said, turning his way so she could face him as squarely as possible. "It's not like that with Phil. At all."

"Oh, okay," Logan said, nodding lightly, though he clearly was trying to rile her. "You don't trust SHIELD, but the one agent you do like, you call by a first name, but it's not that."

"Hey," she said with a laugh as she reached over and pinched him at the ribs. "He's … okay. Phil … has a soft spot but it's not like  _that_ , okay? He just … he's the one that helped me do a solid ditch on Creed."

Logan glanced up at the rearview mirror, where he and Scott shared a look. "Alright. You can't start up a story like that and leave it hanging in the wind."

"And you definitely left that part out of the story when you told us about what the department did to you," Scott added, quickly picking up the torch from Logan and  _running_ with it.

"You two are so not subtle," K said as she pulled her feet up into a cross legged position. "Fine. It wasn't a major thing. They were scrambling my memories as it suited them best - and they got cocky." She let out a shaky breath at the memory of it. "My  _handler_ made clear what his intentions were … and I … stabbed him."

"It's never that easy," Logan said, giving her a sideways look.

"Yeah, but that was how they found out I had claws," she said. "All of my work before then I was careful not to use them. At all. And they just got a little side swiped. Anyhow," she waved one hand as if that part was totally to be expected. "I stabbed the guy over Creed and jumped out of a helicopter over open water. It hurt. But, I got to shore long before Creed did, and I got out of their search radius before the helicopters could catch up. Coulson relocated me when one of his men found me."

"They started searching once the choppers were out in force," Logan said with a nod.

"Yep. And he was glad to get my full debrief on everything I could remember," K agreed. "In exchange for the information - he wiped my record. To keep other agencies off my tail." She gave Logan a little smile. "So I kinda screwed them over on my way out in every way I could. So yes.  _Phil_ favors me. For that."

"And Tony?" Scott asked.

"Tony … is an idiot. Nice guy - no, really. He is. Hear me out," she said holding both hands up when both of them scoffed. "He's just wrapped up in his image.  _Yes_. He screws around a lot, but apparently once a woman turns him down …" She shrugged. "He's an idiot, okay? I tried."

Scott smirked light at that and then shrugged. "He just… doesn't seem like your type."

She turned to look his way with a fond sort of smile. "He's … not exactly  _not_ my type either."

"Sure," Scott said, looking out the window.

"The ego was the deal killer," she promised. "Man's been spoiled his whole life. No. Thank you."

"Well, we're happy to be the backup plan to the rich idiot," Scott said dryly.

"Lets get something straight, Caramel Mocha - you're not the  _back up_  plan. At all." K had to grin at that. "Besides. While he was obsessing over how to catch my attention, he missed that I nuked his searches on me. So. Ha." She re-crossed her legs and leaned back. "He didn't have much on you guys either. Not anything new anyhow."

Scott nodded at that, not quite able to hide the obviously pleased smile before he shifted slightly and turned to Logan. "So, when we get there, we should find someplace I can practice."

Logan was still smirking, highly amused not only at K's approach to Stark - but also the fact that every one of the guys there was so hung up on the what if - that not one of them, himself included, noticed that she'd snuck into Tony's records. "I'm sure we'll find something for you," Logan said, nodding lightly.

"New change in topic that's not at all abrupt or going the other way at eighty miles an hour," K said, laughing to herself. "We should really discuss what our cover is before we get into anywhere public. At all. I'm sure you guys already talked it over, but … I was a little occupied being occupied to join in the fun."

Logan turned her way for a moment, let out a huff and went right back to driving. "What part of it did you need to discuss?"

"Ah … what it is? Might be nice. I know he's your boy, but where do I figure in?" K said, frowning slightly. "'Stray' is hard to explain to everyone else."

Logan drew in a deep breath, held it for a moment and then looked up at Scott in the mirror again. "You're with me. No one will ask you. Handle it how you want."

She turned her head and let out a little 'hmm'. "I guess I'll just follow the cues," she said quietly.

Naturally, the whole structure of their cover was tested as soon as they got to their rest stop/coffee break. She made sure that she slipped into the booth first, and let the boys fill in as they chose. Scott made it easier on her by taking the seat across from her, and a moment later, Logan slid in next to her - and put his arm on the back of the booth. "You could have just said that's what you were going for," she told him quietly enough that Scott missed it.

"Not doing anything for the  _cover_ right now," Logan replied just as quietly, which got her to visibly pause.

She thought about it for just a moment - and right about the time it looked like Logan was going to move his arm, she slid a little closer to lean on him. "Fair enough," she said loud enough that Scott could catch.

"You know," Scott said quietly as he watched the two of them. "Someone's going to notice that we're not exactly - there's no-" He shook his head. "There's no… umm. Rings."

K smirked and spoke in a perfectly normal tone. "You think we need that?"

"I was just thinking about…" Scott looked up at her and waved a hand between her and himself. "I'm trying to think ahead, and how it looks. You and I look more alike, and I don't want anyone to think Logan's not my dad."

K grinned and crossed her arms on the table as she leaned forward. "I cheated on your dad. I'm pretty sure he figured it out already. He was disappointed you didn't have his nose, but … he's a genuinely  _good_ guy."

Scott blinked at her for a second and then couldn't help but smirk. "I'm just trying to look ahead," he said. "If we're posing as a family."

"Second husband," Logan said with a little chuckle. "That's easier to wrap anyone's head around. Or … boyfriend. Whatever. Don't need to be rings if it's not an established whatever."

"I couldn't stand your father anyhow," K said, shaking her head with a little smile at Scott. "Too tall … and smug. And tall."

"I wasn't angling for a backstory, but if you have a problem with tall people…"

"I'm just trying to entertain you," she laughed. "I'll go with whatever you want. Might be a good idea since apparently when someone hits on me both of you shut your brains off."

Logan didn't argue that part of it - he'd been caught and he knew it. It made no sense to deny it.

But Scott just flushed and looked down, the reddest part the edges of his ears. "Just didn't want to split up," he muttered at the table.

"Speak for yourself," Logan said. "I didn't want to see her with that moron."

K looked between the two of them and shook her head. "Okay. so. The last thing I remember before getting picked up by that group was a half a discussion about sticking together. So you two must have worked out more than that when I was out. I am  _invested_ in you being okay, Scott."

Scott's ears looked a little brighter as he kept his gaze on the table. "I'm okay."

"Of course you are," she said almost briskly. "Doesn't mean I'm not going to want to keep it that way." She looked over at Logan and settled in a little better. "Wasn't really crazy about splitting with you guys either. But I would have if that's what  _you_ wanted."

The rest of their meal break was in relative quiet, as was the last leg of the trip. To the shock of both the guys, the spot that Coulson had picked out for them wasn't the usual tucked in hidden away cabin - but instead a fairly busy string of condos on the beach. They had the keys to the condo, and the three of them were looking forward to a more private break. They all had space at Stark's place, but it was hard to shake the feeling that someone was watching them at some point or another.

Once they got inside, K dropped her bag on the couch and Scott headed upstairs to see what the layout was. "You should take a break," K suggested to Logan. "You drove most of the way, and I know you didn't sleep before we left."

"I'm fine," he said quietly, though he headed over to see what they were dealing with too.

"There's one bedroom up here," Scott said as he made his way down the stairs.

"And one down here," K muttered, shaking her head. She hadn't started looking around - but there was a note on the table that was obviously from Coulson's sweep of the place.  _Use your cover._ "We need to do a better sweep for bugs. That or Phil is trying to low-key set something in motion."

"So, do you guys want upstairs or downstairs?" Scott asked straightfaced. "I'm fine either way."

K whipped her head around to look up at Scott, already suspicious since it was clear Coulson had a soft spot for kids, and she was positive that Phil had really liked this one.

"We'll stay down here," Logan said, shaking his head. "Entry points …someone comes in they'll have to go through us to get to you."

"Alright. I'll try not to do any balcony shooting, then," Scott said with a little smirk as he turned around to head back upstairs so he could settle into the room.

"He's ... " K stood there for a moment just staring at where Scott had disappeared. "What the hell?"

"Kid likes being right. Who doesn't?" Logan said before he picked up her bag and took it to the downstairs bedroom.

"Okay, I can't handle both of you being so … smug. So you're gonna have to stop it." She watched him for a moment before she followed to grab a change of clothes. "Feel free to pass out. I'm going to clean up and see what the local news is."

When K got out of the shower, Logan had done exactly that - and when she got out to the living room, Scott was already watching the news. "All settled in?" she asked before she dropped into the seat nearby.

"More or less," he replied. "You should get some rest."

K smirked and shook her head lightly. " _You_  should. You've been stressed out hard for the past couple of days. I'll take the first watch." She pulled a blanket up over her lap and snuggled into the chair, but when Scott didn't move right away, she knew she had to say something. "I'm just a little paranoid after everything. If your dad wasn't exhausted, I doubt he'd have gone to sleep at this point of the game either. But he hasn't been sleeping for a few days."

"Probably be able to relax when we're not at a stopgap, right?" Scott asked.

"Me? I just need to listen for the first few hours anyhow," she said. "Him? You tell me."

"I don't know," Scott said honestly. "I don't think he's really relaxed since that fiasco with the Department."

"They've kept close tabs on him for a long time," she said, nodding. "Too bad they lost a lot of their data. Maybe it'll lighten up after the next move."

"Maybe," Scott said. "But I don't think so. Not when he knows we're all in the crosshairs," he added with a frown.

"We'll have to fix that somehow," K decided, snuggling in a little deeper. "Did you two have plans for the summer, or was it going to be just - work at the coffee shop and ask pretty girls out?" She was smiling at him just like she used to do at work when she'd tease him about Farrah.

"Well, not really solid plans, though I did want to put in some flight time," Scott admitted with a small smile.

"You're a pilot?" she asked, brightening up. "Shouldn't you know how to drive first?"

He smirked at that. "My dad, well, my birth dad, was in the Air Force," he explained, sitting up a little straighter and breaking into a real smile. "And one of the first things Logan and I got to do was go to a show. Antique planes." He couldn't contain the sparkle in his gaze. "It was amazing."

She couldn't help but smile with him. "Then whatever else happens, we  _need_ to get you behind the stick. Anything that gets a smile like that has to be indulged. Often." She leaned forward a little. "And I'm sure the chopper ride wasn't up to snuff."

"Not really," he admitted with a little smirk.

K reached over and gave Scott's wrist a little squeeze. "Go on. Take a nap at least. When I get tired, I'll go to bed. I promise."

He raised an eyebrow at her but finally nodded and got up from the couch. "I'm glad you're sticking around," he said, pausing at the bottom of the stairs.

"It's hard to want to walk away from you two," K promised, "Thanks for not ditching me. Might have been easier if you had though. Cover or no."

She watched him head up the stairs with a little smirk, and she did, in fact sit there for a long while listening to the ambient sounds around them - the ocean's gentle waves, the sound of traffic a few miles down the road, a dog barking. But there was nothing outside of normal airline traffic over head. Nothing but commercial liners.

So after she felt her eyelids drooping, she finally admitted to herself that she needed to go to sleep. She tried to settle in where she was, but it really wasn't working for her and after a few attempts at settling in, K gave up trying to hunker down on the chair.

She left the blanket there and tiptoed over to the downstairs bedroom where Logan was sleeping. "This is such a bad idea," she muttered under her breath, knowing full well that startling him could  _hurt._  She paused at the side of the bed, watching him for a long moment.

"I'm not going to bite," Logan said quietly, cracking one eye open at her. "But I can leave if you want me to."

"No. Not necessary," K said, climbing onto the bed. "I just … didn't want to bother you."

Logan frowned at that and pulled the covers back. "Not gonna happen."

The two of them settled in- though definitely on their own sides of the bed. K fell asleep a lot faster than she'd thought she would, and a short while later, she woke up with a start and nearly squeaked when she saw the man asleep next to her.

Logan turned her way and held up one hand. "Is this gonna happen every time to fall asleep with me?" he asked, though he relaxed when she put her hand to her chest and let her shoulders drop.

"No. I'm just ... it's hard to relax," she said, though Logan could hear her heart racing.

"C'mere," he said, waving her closer. "Not gonna hurt you. Maybe the scent will remind you you're not with a total jackass."

She paused as she considered him, but slid closer anyhow. It was a sound theory. It was just the practice she was concerned with. And … the fact that she found him attractive. "Right. What could possibly go wrong," K deadpanned, though she couldn't help the little smile when he wrapped his arm around her to pull her closer.


	2. Making Nice

When Scott got downstairs the next morning, he was glad to see that at least K hadn't passed out on the couch like she looked ready to do. The blanket she'd had was still on the chair, and when he headed to the kitchen, it was hard to miss that she'd followed through and went to bed.

It was even harder to miss the fact that she was curled into Logan's side and using his shoulder for a pillow while Logan had one arm wrapped around her. And both of them were still passed out solidly.

Scott smirked to himself when he saw it and then backed out to go find the coffeemaker and get something started, knowing that was what both of them would be looking for when they did eventually come out to join him.

At the first sounds in the kitchen, both ferals started to rouse, though K was the one to start to move first. She shifted as she started to wake up and stretched out, smiling when Logan's reaction to it was to simply give her a little one-armed squeeze that kept her from going too far away. "Did I screw up your slumber?" she asked quietly, looking down at him from where she had rested her chin on her arm- still leaning on his chest.

"Do I look like you screwed up my slumber?" He replied with a little smirk, his eyes still half closed.

"Guess not," she said before she started to sit up. "We shouldn't let him wait for too long."

"He can handle it," Logan said, smirking a little more crookedly, which only got a rise out of her, and without any more prompting, she simply laid back down and curled in again.

Scott was well into breakfast before the two adults finally stepped out of their room.

Logan of course didn't say a word, but K made a point to stop and kiss the top of his head for making the coffee. "Such a great kid."

Scott's ears burned a bit, though he was smirking to himself all over again.

The two of them took their seats with Scott at the table, though it still looked like they could both use rest. "What's the plan today for you - at least … when you usually settle in to a place for a little bit?" K asked.

"Probably oughta poke around a little," Logan rumbled. "See what the town's like."

"You mean look for exit routes," K said over the top of her mug.

"Yeah. That's what I said," Logan replied. "Then lay low for a little while. What about you?"

"I watched the news and looked at a map last night," K said. "I thought I might walk down to the beach and lay out. Breathe for a few minutes. Look like I'm actually on vacation like everyone else here."

"If you're headed to the beach, I was going to see if I could find a place to practice," Scott said.

K smiled over at him. "Great. You can work on your tan, too. A little color will help you blend in." with that much decided, the little group finished their breakfast with just a bit of chatter now and again, and as soon as they were done, K and Scott both headed off to get changed for the beach.

Of course, Janet had thought of everything when she set them up with clothes for the trip, and the two of them looked like they were set to fit in just fine with the new suits - blue for Scott, because Janet had listened to him, and red for K simply because Janet thought it was a good color for her.

There was of course a moment that Logan was sure to talk to Scott about their little excursion. "You've got your button, right?" he said quietly before K stepped out to grab a towel.

Scott nodded. "In my pocket."

"Keep watch. SHIELD agents are easy to spot, you know that. The other guys, if they have any brains will be harder to see."

"I'm not going to let them surprise me again," Scott promised with a look that was purely serious.

Logan smirked at that. "I know. It's just a little different with the third."

When K stepped out of the room a few minutes later, she was pulling her hair up into a high ponytail. "Ready when you are, Caramel Mocha."

"Just waiting on you," Scott said.

She smiled up at him and took a hold of his arm. "Then we can just get moving then. We have people to watch, and a beach to walk." She gave a little wave at Logan on the way out the door, which only got a smirk from him. "You pick the direction, Scotty."

"Let's go further down toward some of the rocks out there," Scott said. "I saw them when we came in. They're not really big enough for diving, so it might be more private."

She nodded at that and they headed down, stepping around the beached jellyfish and debris. The rocks went from a few little ones scattered and poking up from the sand to some taller ones that like Scott had said, were too small to jump off of - and those that were big enough weren't close enough to the water to make good use of.

They walked around them and started further down the beach - scoping out the entire area, and while Scott was watching out for people and where they gathered, K was paying close attention to the dispersal of houses and condos - possible vantage points, clear shooting lanes … the things Scott didn't know all about … yet.

When they found a reasonable stretch of deserted beach, K set down her towel and stretched out. "I don't know what you're looking for exactly - but … I think that the chances of someone seeing you in this spot - shooting into the rocks - is next to nothing," she told him. "I'll watch to make sure no one sneaks up on you."

Scott nodded at that, though he still looked a bit nervous about it. "I'm still not very good at turning it on unless I'm in a high-stress situation."

"Well," she said, shrugging up her shoulders. "I doubt anyone is an expert on anything like that when they get started."

"Probably not," he said. He sat down and scrunched his forehead, trying to focus on that feeling behind his eyes that had kicked in when he last used the blast thing.

"Take your time," K said. "The sun feels good after all that … stuck in the house. No one will sneak up on you, and if you'd rather wait for Logan to be here - we'll just drag him along next time."

"No, that's alright," he said. "I don't know if I'll even be able to get it to work today. I don't really have a headache."

"Then I guess if nothing else we found a spot, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah. But I'm going to try to make it work anyway," he said. "I should be able to, right?"

"Probably?" she said. "I am poorly equipped to advise you on that."

"Yeah, that's what my dad said," Scott said with a sigh.

"But … I can be your cheerleader if it helps."

Scott smirked. "Maybe it would help if you did the opposite. I mean, it works when I'm stressed."

"I'm not going to bash you," K said, frowning.

"I was kidding, K," Scott said with a smirk.

"Well that's good at least, you know. The fact that you have a sense of humor to kid with. You hold it so tight." She pushed her sunglasses down to look at him more clearly. "And it's a shame. Because you are funny."

Scott gave her a dry look. "I do have a sense of humor."

She smiled his way. "Yes. That's what I said."

Scott shook his head to himself before he went back to trying to figure out a way to give himself a headache … though that didn't work when he was honestly relaxed for the first time in several days just hanging out on the beach with K.

When Scott had finally gotten tired of … trying … the two of them headed back up the beach. It had gotten later than they'd thought, and when they stepped into the condo, it was to find that Logan had dinner going.

"Nice tan," Logan rumbled, smirking to himself. "Thought you weren't big on the beach."

"There's a good spot in the rocks to practice," Scott explained, looking down at his arms when he realized he'd gotten some good sun.

"It's a good look on you," K promised. "And a hard one to pull off in the north-west, so … welcome to the south."

Scott smirked her way, then tipped his head toward Logan. "What about you?"

"Found a few good exit routes," he said. "Typical coastal town. Most of the cash comes in from tourists." he shrugged. "Not half bad to stay short term."

"Most of the people looked like tourists too," Scott said. "And a few older couples."

"Phil is pretty good at picking spots," K said as she gave Scott's shoulder a squeeze and slipped by. "Gonna wash the sand off - give you boys a chance to conspire."

"Are we conspiring now?" Logan asked as he glanced up at Scott.

"Must be," Scott replied, smirking to himself. "I don't think I've ever seen whatever it is you're cooking …"

"Gotta go with what's locally available," Logan shrugged, even though it was clearly a step above his usual of steak or salmon.

"Sure you do," Scott said, smirking a little wider before he followed K's lead and headed upstairs to clean up in a little brighter mood than before.

Scott was definitely feeling more optimistic about life in general - he had his Dad, and K was sticking with them … and though he didn't know how things were going to work out between the two adults, it was plainly apparent, even to him, that they were both interested in each other. He just wanted it to happen faster.

As soon as he was cleaned up a little bit, Scott rushed to help out where he could, which to his surprise meant he got to help cook something. He absolutely wasn't expecting it, but he wasn't about to miss the opportunity either, and it wasn't long before Scott was smirking to himself as he finished up the vegetables with a clearly Japanese flair.

"Where did you learn how to do this?" Scott asked after he followed Logan's advice and tasted the sesame-ginger flavored green beans.

"Around," Logan said with a shrug as he dropped the still sizzling tuna on the dish. "You pick it up." He tipped his head toward the table, and the two of them started moving things so they could sit down to dinner.

And Scott didn't miss at all the troublemaking smirk Logan was wearing when K came out and looked floored at the spread. "You didn't call this in, did you?" she asked, glancing between the two of them.

"No, this was all Logan," Scott said.

"Not entirely," Logan argued.

"Um … yes it was. I did what you told me to- so it was you by proxy," Scott pointed out, still smirking to himself, but on seeing how impressed his old boss was at their dinner, he quickly decided that he was going to have to learn a little bit himself.

The three of them enjoyed their meal as a group, though even Scott was impressed by what they'd made, if he was being honest.

"I hope you know that I can help with that side of things too," K pointed out as she started the dishes for them.

"Yeah, but you don't need to," Scott said when he brought his plate over. He reached as if he was going to start washing, but K caught his arm and kissed his cheek.

"That's how this works, right? If you cook, you don't wash up - and vice versa. Nice work on the cooking side. I've got this," she said with a smile.

Scott looked like he didn't want to let it stand that way for a moment, but when she gave him a look, he stepped back and headed to the deck out the back side of the condo, hoping that him being out of the immediate vicinity would give Logan a little room to get to work.

"So," K said once she and Logan were alone in the kitchen. "Was this a special occasion?"

Logan shrugged. "New start of things. Figured it'd be a nice change over the greasy spoons we've been hittin'."

K smirked and glanced over at him as he leaned on the counter with his arms crossed. "It really was nice," she admitted then turned his way. It was clear she was considering something, though what, wasn't exactly apparent. She leaned a little closer and kissed him right next to his mouth, but that only had him smirking more crookedly. "I'll take care of tomorrow."

"Sounds like a deal," Logan agreed. He watched her for a moment - neither one of them backing off even an inch until she finally broke into a smile and sidestepped just past him to start washing dishes. Logan continued to watch her for a moment, then silently stepped out of the kitchen to check on how Scott was doing. When he stepped out onto the deck overlooking the ocean, the young man was leaning on the railing, arms crossed and looking out to sea. "You have any luck earlier?"

Scott almost did a double take when he heard Logan's voice, and he straightened up quickly. "No, not really. I think I've gotta be stressed out - or … under pressure of some sort. I don't know." He looked frustrated for a moment as he locked his jaw down.

Logan thought it over and leaned against the railing next to him. "We'll figure something out. Just gotta be patient and give yourself a little time."

Scott nodded, then frowned to himself. "Did she turn down your help?"

Logan let out a little laugh. "She's cookin' tomorrow."

Scott couldn't quite stop the little smile before he turned back to watching the water. "Well," he said, "then I guess we're washing up. It seems like a good system." He smiled a little more as he added, "And it'll be nice to get a routine again."

Logan smirked a little wider at that and leaned on the rail a little heavier. He wasn't wrong, and Logan hadn't missed the fact that Scott really did do better when he had a set schedule. He took a minute to check the wind - and to be sure it wasn't going to blow into Scott's face before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. It had been a long couple of days. And he was starting to think that they were going to get comfortable right about the time they had to leave. He took a long drag after lighting up and was just starting to really think everything through when Scott spoke up.

"Doesn't that mess with your sense of smell?" he asked suddenly.

Logan turned his way to see that the young man was frowning slightly, and it was clear by the expression on his face that he wasn't even expecting to ask that particular question. "Yeah, that's kind of the point," Logan replied. "Scents get to be too much. This," he lifted his hand that was holding the cigarette, "... this helps kind of reset it. My nose clears pretty fast afterward, but now and again, it helps."

"Huh," Scott said, watching Logan as he took another long drag and blew it through his nose. "Alright then."

The two of them stayed out on the deck for a long while, but when Logan was done smoking, and the sound of the waves began to pick up as the tide came in, it was time to head inside. "I think I saw a few movies in there," Scott said, quickly making his way in ahead of Logan.

Logan frowned as he watched the kid head in - and had to chuckle to himself when he heard Scott tell K pretty much the same thing - along with a promise to make some popcorn for the three of them. When Logan stepped in, K gave him a look as if to ask 'is this your doing?' but Logan shook his head and gestured for her to head to the living room where Scott was busily setting up while the popcorn was popping.

K looked at the available seating options and after just a heartbeat, took a spot on the loveseat and pulled her feet up underneath her. Logan let out a breath as he watched Scott, but didn't bother looking at the other options since Scott was being so painfully obvious. He took a seat next to K and put his arm up on the back of the loveseat as he settled into his corner.

There weren't a lot of movies to pick from, and everything that was available was a little older, and growing up the way he had, Scott hadn't seen any of them, so he did his best and picked by the dust jacket on the VHS tapes. When he turned around to see that they were both there, he frowned on seeing how far apart the two of them had managed to sit on the loveseat. By the time 2001: A Space Odyssey started up though, Scott had settled into the chair, fully planning to slip out partway into it, feigning weariness.

The beginning of the movie was more than a little sketchy, but none of them was about to call it out, and as the monkeys switched to the space station, Logan relaxed into his seat and K shifted how she had her legs folded under her. By the time that Hal started acting up, Scott was honestly tired of it and didn't feel bad in the least when he let out a huge yawn and slipped off to bed.

K watched him go, and before he'd made it to the top of the stairs, Logan leaned toward her and put his hands on her shoulders to pull her into him so she was leaning on him. "Might as well get comfortable," he said quietly into her hair.

She smirked to herself and settled in, and as the movie progressed, the two of them were more distracted. It started out with Logan's arm drifting from at her shoulder to simply draped around her and K's hand rested just over his knee as she leaned her head on his shoulder until he finally turned his head toward her until once again, his nose was half buried in her hair. "You want to finish this thing or call it a night?"

"Tired of me leaning on you?" she asked quietly.

"No. Just tired of sitting here pretending I give a damn about this movie when we could be doing this in bed."

She held her breath for just a moment and then sat up and turned to face him, not moving out of his space at all. "You like it when I curl up with you."

"I'd like it a lot more if you just did it instead of lookin' for an invitation."

"I prefer not to be the aggressor."

Logan tipped his head and raised an eyebrow at that. "I dunno. Looked to me like chasin' you wasn't the smartest move, seein' how you shot down Stark."

She wrinkled up her nose at that and lightly shook her head. "Well that was Stark."

"Different rules for different guys? Don't seem fair."

"Same rules," she promised. "He just wasn't what I was looking for."

"What are you looking for?"

K shrugged. "I guess I'll know when it falls together."

Logan's brows drew together for just a moment as he watched her, then with a nod, he simply pulled her closer and kissed her. She put her arms around his neck, and it was a fairly long moment or three before the kiss ended on its own.

K drew her teeth over her bottom lip and held his gaze, though he looked entirely too full of himself. "Okay, yeah, this movie is dumb," she said, nodding lightly.

"You calling it then?" he asked before he pulled her a little closer.

"I think so," K agreed. "We can take this up elsewhere."

"Somewhere more comfortable."

"Exactly."


	3. Working As A Unit

Scott woke up late, and for just an instant, he panicked just like he always did when he was slow to get up in the morning, but after he scrambled to sit upright and made sure his glasses were settled into place right, he could take a minute to breathe and remember that they were tucked away at the beach in South Carolina … not at Stark's place. Not in Oregon … or some hotel room. He listened for a moment and then let out a deep breath before he looked at the clock closer and began to frown to himself. It was nearly noon.

He pulled a shirt on over his head and quickly got dressed for the day, though he wondered to himself why no one had made any coffee. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and stared for a moment. He couldn't help but smile crookedly when he saw that the door to the other bedroom was closed … he just … was a little surprised that they'd moved that  _fast._

Scott made his way very quietly to the kitchen and started up the coffee. Noon or not, they'd both probably want a cup anyhow. He went about his usual routine - though of course, he was a much later than usual, and once he had food in front of himself, he couldn't help but wonder  _if_ they were going to come out today.

He was just done with breakfast and about to head out onto the deck on the back of the house when Logan came out and silently closed the door behind himself. He glanced up to see Scott, but didn't do more than tip his head toward the young man before he silently padded over to get some coffee. "Been up long?" Logan asked quietly, and Scott had to smirk as he shook his head.

"Just long enough to wake up, really," Scott said, trying to match his volume. "I'm … I'm just gonna go down to the rocks. Give you two a little space ... " He paused and smirked to himself. "Coffee's brewed how she likes it." Scott couldn't help but smile a little wider at himself before he took care of his bowl and headed for the stairs.

"Got your panic button?" Logan asked as he poured up a second mug.

"Always," Scott promised, then outright grinned when Logan disappeared into the bedroom again.

He headed out to the beach, to the spot where he and K had found a place to practice his powers, though admittedly, it was hard to get himself to a place where he was stressed out to try and  _force_ one of his headaches.

After all, things were going  _well_ with Logan and K. He'd been right that they liked each other, and he really did want them to get along more than just the sort of mutual… protectiveness thing that they had going on. He liked both of them, and he knew they both looked out for  _him_ , but it would be better if they were all on the same page.

He kept trying to tell himself  _not_ to get his hopes up too much, since he knew there was every chance there could be a breakup down the line. It had been his experience far too often that people just  _didn't_ stick around. And he was trying very hard to steel himself for that possibility.

But it was so hard not to get caught up in what he really wanted, which was to have a family again. Logan was his family, yes, but to have a mom and a dad that both cared about him? That had been unthinkable before he met K - and before he met Logan too, really.

Finally, Scott realized that he wasn't going to be able to force a headache and instead simply laid out on the rocks with the glasses off and his eyes closed to get a good tan. He might as well.

Meanwhile, K had made a point to slip out to do a little bit of shopping and keep an eye on how things were going around town. It wasn't like her to just hole up unless Coulson specifically told her to do so. And this, surprisingly, wasn't one of those times.

Logan stayed close to keep an ear out for Scott - just in case there was trouble, and considering that he was the one they were looking for, it seemed like a smarter move to let her handle most of the exposed section of the trip.

But she also had a little agreement to live up to, and the two guys were going to  _need_ to be fed. Logan had done a killer job, and Scott was apparently a very good sous chef when asked, so she took her sweet time when she went shopping. She quickly tossed aside the notion of trying to outdo him. That … well. She didn't want to turn it into a competition for one thing, but for another, she had a little tradition of her own when dealing with stressful travel, and a little comfort food was in order.

Not that she didn't have help once she got back if she asked for it. It wasn't a hard recipe to work with, and there were plenty of fresh bright vegetables in the primavera as she worked through it - and to his credit, outside of helping get things set up or put away, Logan gave her space to work. And by the time she was nearly finished with the dessert, the sauce was done - and Scott had made his way back. "Perfect. Timing," she told him. "Was it miserable getting all sun-kissed?"

Scott smirked as he shook his head. "No, it was pretty relaxing," he said.

"Meet any pretty girls?" she asked, not even hiding the smile.

He blinked at her in surprise and then had to laugh and shake his head. "No, no one interesting."

"Too bad," she replied with an easy shrug. "Dinner's more or less ready - so ... hope you're not allergic to a few veggies."

Scott shook his head. "No, you're safe. Or, I am."

"This is something I like to do in between hiding spots," she told him as he walked through the kitchen. "It's my thing." She shooed him to go get cleaned up of the sand and surf still stuck to him. "We'll wait. Don't worry."

"I'm sure you won't get bored," Scott said straight faced before he headed up the stairs.

K had to laugh at him. "You're not subtle, Caramel Mocha!" Still chuckling to herself, K brought their dinner over to the table, and didn't quite make it back to the kitchen before Logan snagged her to steal a kiss - obviously to pass the time until Scott reappeared.

She had to laugh at both of them though, when Scott finally did come down, and not only was he not in a rush to get in the middle, but he was outright smiling. "That's a good look on you," K pointed out. "You should do that more."

"It's a good day," Scott said with a shrug. "What can I do to help?"

"Sit down and eat," she told him. "You can grab dessert afterward. Tiramisu … with caramel."

Scott couldn't help but laugh. "Of course."

"I was inspired," she insisted. "Coffee, chocolate, and caramel - what could possibly go wrong?"

Scott grinned a little wider at that, clearly enjoying himself as he got into the pasta and more relaxed than he'd been in a long time - and it showed.

There really wasn't anything that they had to discuss - there was of course a little small talk as the dinner went on, and when it was all said and done, Scott made good on what K had said he could do and rushed off to grab the dessert, though on his way through the kitchen, he had to pause when he realized that the only dirty dishes in the place were the ones on the table.

"Hey, I thought we were doing the cleaning up."

K looked up at him with her best innocent expression. "You still can."

"But you already… did…"

"I cleaned as I went," she defended. "But there are still dishes. There are  _always_ dishes."

"That's not really… the spirit of the whole agreement," Scott said.

"I guess you'll just have to catch me next time, won't you?" she replied.

"You plannin' on another movie night?" Logan said, cutting in before the picking started up. "Because I think I'm gonna skip it if it's all the same to you."

"Ooh, yes. Good idea," K agreed. "After the caramel covered coffee … thing." K waved at Scott. "Please try it, Caramel Mocha. It has all the things in your namesake."

Scott couldn't help but shake his head with a little laugh, though when he did try the tiramisu, he had to agree, "This is pretty great."

"Excellent," she said, smiling a little wider at him. "I figured you might like that one."

True to form, though, it wasn't too long after the dishes were  _very quickly_ finished, that the two adults disappeared, leaving Scott to his own devices once again.

* * *

The same kind of routine passed the days for nearly a week … Scott would take his time on the beach, the two adults were getting acquainted and spending time with each other and Scott whenever he was around. They were into a solid routine - a little schedule of easy living that gave them a chance to breathe for a while, but of course that was never going to last long term.

For one thing, Logan was getting antsy with their spot. K wasn't much better, either. She clearly wanted to get away from the people to somewhere much more secluded if the way she kept staring out at the ocean was any indicator anyhow. But they kept it to themselves - and discussed their ideas for where to go next between the two of them. At least, they tried to while Scott seemed so perfectly content with how things had been going.

It was almost like clockwork - they'd have a bite for breakfast, jockey for who would finish the dishes, and then Scott would head down the beach to try and practice, though it just hadn't worked out for him. He was convinced he was too relaxed, which he was sure should have caused him some small measure of stress, but … it was hard to be anxious when everything was falling into place. And it was, falling into place.

Scott was down past the breakers - well beyond the usual rocks and in a much more secluded area of the beach when it happened all at once. There was no headache. There was no pinch at the back of his head or the corner of his eyes. There was no warning.

One second, Scott was mildly watching the waves, his glasses off just long enough that he could clean the lenses - and the next … he'd blasted a path through the water - almost as if someone had dropped a seawall in that pushed the water away violently - all the way out to the sandbar.

For a long moment, he was stunned, unable to really process how powerful the blast was. And after a moment of sheer panic, he quickly remembered himself and tried to make it stop. But it seemed as if the harder he concentrated, the stronger the beam got until he was forced to simply close his eyes and put the glasses back on.

He  _had_ been standing when it all started … but by the time he put the glasses back on, he was half sprawled on the sand trying to gather himself up and get the feeling back in his limbs that had disappeared from the shock of it all.

It took some time, but for the first time, he was far enough away from everyone when it happened, that he  _could_ take the time to think about it without asking for anyone's help. That's not to say he didn't wish like crazy that Logan or K had been a little closer to him, but …  _oh, crap._

None of this was good. They'd  _just_ got settled in. They'd  _just_ really gotten a routine going and Logan and K were relaxed and comfortable around each other in a way that he hadn't seen from his Dad yet.

Scott locked his jaw down tight as he made his way back toward the condo. He had to deal with this somehow without starting the SHIELD panic protocols. Or whatever they were called.

When he got back - he wasn't surprised to find the two adults on the deck half wrapped up in each other. He tried to simply slip through - as if he was going in to clean up as usual, but of course …

"What's wrong?" Logan asked.

Scott paused in the doorway and racked his brains to find  _something_ to say before he settled on: "headache." Which was true; his head did hurt, like he had stayed up too late and had one of those late-night sore headaches.

The two of them untangled from each other and Logan took a few steps closer. "Great. So let's go down to the rocks. I'll watch your back."

Scott shook his head. "I was just out there," he said.

"Can't get it to work?" Logan asked.

Scott bit his lip. "I'll just… we can try it at the next place."

"Scotty," Logan said. "What happened?"

"It's fine - I'm fine," Scott said quickly. "I've got it. Really."

"You're glowing," Logan told him.

Scott almost unconsciously reached for his glasses and then let his shoulders drop. "It's fine as long as I keep them on," he said.

Logan nodded and followed him into the condo, though K wasn't far behind, and once she watched the way Scott was acting for a couple moments, she crossed over to where he was and simply wrapped him up in a bear hug - completely ignoring whatever perceived danger Scott thought he was.

"Alright, but are you okay?" K asked, still holding on to him.

"I'm fine," Scott said.

"Oh, we're going to have to work on how well you lie," she said quietly. "Because you do not lie well at all."

Scott looked between K and Logan for a moment and let his shoulders drop, knowing he was caught. "It just surprised me," he admitted. "That's all."

"You did say you had a headache," Logan said, though he was watching Scott closer than the boy realized.

"I did -  _after_ it happened," Scott said at last, rubbing his forehead. "I didn't even know it was going to happen."

Logan looked up and met Scott's gaze, though neither of them really knew what to do, and it was pretty obvious. "No warning at all?"

Scott shook his head. "One minute, I'm looking at the ocean…" He frowned and let out a breath. "The next, I'm looking at the ocean  _bed_ all the way up to the sandbar," he admitted, finally letting some of his anxiety show, since he was busted anyway.

"I'll get us moving," K said before she gave Scott a kiss on the cheek. "We'll figure something out. That … is pretty impressive, Caramel Mocha."

"It would be more impressive if I meant to do it," Scott said.

"Well I don't mean to be how I am, but apparently that's impressive on its own," K called out over her shoulder. "Embrace it."

Scott gave her a weak smile before he simply sat down and glanced up at Logan. "No one saw me," he said.

"It's an excuse to move," Logan promised. "I was gettin' antsy anyhow."

"Well, where can we go that people aren't going to notice…" He let out a breath. "If I can't figure this out…"

"I don't know," Logan admitted. "But for now, we'll just go. Fill in the blanks later. K'll let Coulson know somehow … she's been watching the news pretty close anyhow."

Scott nodded slowly, starting to really feel overwhelmed as he let his head rest on his hands.

"Hey, it's not your fault, you know that. All you can do is just keep working on it."

"How, though?" Scott asked, looking up at Logan. "I didn't even know it was going to happen, Dad. And I can't  _stop_ it."

But Logan really didn't have an answer, and he didn't want to say something empty that wasn't going to help anyone either. "Okay boys," K said when she re-entered the room with a bag over her shoulder. "You ready to start moving?" She took in the scene and dropped the bag on the floor and then went over to sit down next to Scott since it was clear things were not going how they'd hoped. "What … did you do before?" she asked haltingly.

"It usually just… went away before," Scott said.

She nodded slowly, biting her lip as she watched him. "So … it's still on. Which … would it help if you went ahead and blasted something?"

"Maybe?" Scott glanced up at her with a frown. "When I've used it before, it just… ran out. Eventually."

She nodded at that and looked over to Logan. "Why don't you grab his gear, load it up … we'll walk down the beach a little bit."

"I'll have the truck running," Logan said with a nod as K pulled on Scott's arm.

"Come on … we can give it a shot, and run like hell."

Scott just nodded as he let K lead him, though when they got to the spot on the rocks, he hesitated for a second before lifting the glasses - and as soon as they were off his face, the solid red blast started up again, a little above the water this time. And he just let it go for as long as it wanted to last until it sort of sputtered out and he found himself sprawled back with a killer headache feeling more tired than he'd felt in a long time.

"Okay, come on," K said, pulling on him to get moving. "I can carry you if I have to, but that will definitely look suspicious."

Scott nodded tiredly as he tried to keep up with her, though he made sure to put his glasses back on all the same.

And as promised, Logan was waiting - loaded up and ready to roll. "Lay down in the back seat," Logan told him, and when Scott looked in the back, he wasn't entirely surprised to find that Logan had made sure to keep room for him to stretch out. "Get it figured out - or at least out of your system for a minute?"

Scott nodded. "Yeah, I think I'm out," he said, gesturing to the glasses, which were no longer glowing.

"Try to relax," Logan said as Scott got settled in. "We've got a spot picked out."

"No one's ever found it," K promised. "So it's sound."

It wasn't long before Scott was soundly asleep, and K couldn't help but peek at him over the back of the front seat of the truck. "No telling if anyone saw that," she said finally, very quietly. "But … there's no way to know what his range was either. That … was like a beacon."

Logan nodded and let out a slow breath. "Kid packs a punch. I was standing in the way one of the first times it happened. Like gettin' hammered by a semi."

"I kind of got that by his description of the water," K said, then she thought about it for a moment and scooted over to sit in the middle of the bench were Logan could put his arm around her, and of course, he did.

"Not gonna let anyone snatch him," Logan said quietly, with K nodding in agreement.

Scott slept for hours … and it wasn't until they were taking a break in Columbus, Ohio when he finally woke up. "How long have I been out?" Scott asked groggily when sat up, carefully rubbing his eyes.

"A while. We're in Ohio," Logan said, as he watched K approaching with some food for the group. "You've been out for about ten hours. Give or take."

Scott's eyebrows went up for a moment. He wasn't entirely surprised though. He'd been totally wiped out by the optic blast … that's … that's what that doctor or whatever he was called it. "How far are we going?" Scott asked, mentally picturing the United States, and honestly wondering why they were going  _closer_ to Canada when that was where the trouble was.

"Not sure," Logan admitted as K reached the truck. "Have to ask our navigator."

"Ask me what?" K asked, brushing her hair back from her face before she peeked into the bags and handed one back to Scott.

"How much farther we're going," Scott said, smirking as K handed him a tall glass bottle of Coke to go with his burger.

"Oh," she said, frowning for a moment as she thought it over. "Around another ten? Eleven hours. Depending on how the bridge crossing is when we get there."

"We're going to Canada?" Scott asked, his eyebrows scraping his hair line, but that got the most insulted sounding scoff from her that he'd ever heard seconds before she slowly turned his way.

"Don't be ridiculous," K said in as deep of a tone as she could manage. "No. Not …  _Canada."_

Logan took his hand off the gear shift and had to turn to face her. "What the hell's wrong with Canada, outside of that program?"

"Only pretty much everything," K said, though Scott could see the amusement dancing in her eyes. "Buncha overly polite hosers suckin' down two-fours with their poutine."

Logan looked as if she'd thrown cold water at him as he openly gaped at her and K, for her part simply held his gaze. "How can you have a problem with  _Canada_?"

"How can you  _not_?" she challenged, which only had him blinking for a moment.

"I'm  _from_ northern Alberta," Logan said, still staring at her like she'd completely lost her mind, while Scott found himself leaning forward almost without thinking about it, holding his breath.

But K tipped her head to the side sympathetically and scooted closer to rest her hand on his knee and give him a kiss on the cheek. "Awww, that's okay. Proof that no one's perfect. Besides ...it's not your fault." She pointed to the highway as she handed him a bottle of Coke to go with his dinner. "Head north on 71, and try to keep it under 88 clicks, sweetheart."

Logan half glared at her for a long moment until she snuggled back in and gave him another kiss. "I can drive if you don't-"

"I've got it," he grumbled, though he didn't take his arm from around her shoulders as they headed out.

She stayed right there, half curled in until he relaxed his shoulders, then she leaned forward again and kissed his jaw right on the edge of his sideburns before she moved over again and handed him his dinner. "I'm so glad you can take it," she said with a growing smirk. "So polite."

Logan turned her way with a dry look that rivaled Scott's, but didn't do more than growl - which only got a broader smile out of K as she settled in with her fries.

"How's your burger, Caramel Mocha?" K asked finally, turning to look over her shoulder at him. "Did I do alright, or should we just grab chips next time?"

"I'm fine," Scott said, still watching both of them, though it was apparent quickly that he wasn't actually irritated with her. Or at least … not irritated enough to do anything about it.

They travelled on for a long while in relative silence, all of them settled in to stop only when refueling, though it would have been a major oversight for the guys had they not gotten more anxious the further north they got. And though K certainly looked like she was more attentive to what was going on around them, she was definitely more relaxed, only occasionally telling Logan where to correct their course when it wasn't her turn to drive.

It was a major shift in scenery once they got an hour or so north of Detroit, and even Scott could appreciate the obviously cleaner air - and the trees that seemed to get thicker the further they went, but still, K kept pointing them north.

It wasn't until they were well past the 45th parallel that Logan finally had to ask her where the hell they were going. "You're taking us right to Canada."

K turned to glare at him for a moment from the driver's seat. "I would  _never_ do anything that underhanded," she almost hissed his way. "I am taking you to heaven on earth. Just … relax. Really."

"This road goes right to Sault Ste Marie," Logan said. "That's Canada."

"Only if you cross the wrong bridge," K countered. "And we're not going to the Soo anyhow. So just … stop that. We're staying in the Upper."

Logan frowned deeper and sat back in his seat as he watched her. "How far west?"

"Just far enough," K replied, though she gave him a sidelong glance. "Firmly where we should be, but not more than half a day's drive to either Wisconsin or Minnesota - and not far from Gitche-gumee."

Logan had his arm on the back of the seat, half turned her way. "You're kiddin' me, right?"

"Nope," she said, shaking her head. "Want me to recite  _The Song of Hiawatha_?" she said with a smirk. "We're going to pass by where that was supposed to have taken place."

Logan's expression shifted to one that was a little more troublemaking. "Didn't take you for a poetry buff."

"It's hard not to like Longfellow," she pointed out. "Especially when he had such  _excellent_ taste in settings." She gave him a little smirk and tipped her chin up to illustrate that she wasn't going to listen to any argument to the contrary. It was something that Scott had learned early on in the coffee shop. Not to argue when she got that look.

"You know that lake is half Canada," Logan said, but K shook her head.

"No. It's more than half Michigan. And in this case, the south side is the best side. The poem was set at Pictured Rocks and Miner's Castle. When we get there, if it's not dark, I'll point out where that is."

"Defensive," Logan noted with a smirk. "S'at mean you're a local?"

K looked up and shook her head just before the road was set to take a soft curve and the massive suspension bridge came into view, peeking through the trees in the distance. "Not yet, no. But … give me an hour."

Logan had to chuckle at that. "Any reason you don't like Canadians?"

"I really just like to pick. They're some of my favorite people to get drunk and shark money out of," K replied, smiling back at him. "They're too easy to screw with."

"Taken off guard by a pretty face," Logan said, but again K shook her head.

"Never caught 'em looking at my face when we were playing cards," she said very matter-of-factly, then turned her head slightly to give Logan a slow and obvious once over that had him smirking more crookedly.

"Doesn't change that we're headed toward Canada," Logan said.

"Except that we're only headed that way until we get to the right interchange," K said. "It's the fastest way into the upper - and I'd drive through Detroit topless before I go through Chicago for anything."

Logan looked over his shoulder and turned back to her with a frown that was clearly put on. "When did that happen? I'm sure we already went through Detroit …"

She reached over and smacked his arm then pointed a finger his way. "You were driving then. Totally invalidates it."

"Well if I'd known …"

But that just got her to hit him a little harder. "What an example you're setting!" She hit him one more time for good measure before she started to laugh along with him - nothing too raucous, just an honest amused sort of tone between them that held no real irritation.

As it turned out though, the weather was beautiful, and the only slow-down in crossing the straits was on the north side when they had to wait for their turn at the toll booth. "We're running out of north," Logan pointed out. "Sure you don't want to bite the bullet and keep going into the great white north?"

She gave him a dry look and reached out to pay the toll before she stepped on it and took the first exit at speed. "No, I like west now," K laughed, though once they'd made the turn around the rocky outcropping that held 'falling rocks' signs on its face, the road dipped down as it went right into thick forests. She gestured ahead of them with one hand. "We'll go north again when we're away from the terrible, terrible dangers of poutine near the Soo."

They didn't go far before it was time to fill up though, and after K pointed them to her pick for food, Logan took over driving and she pulled her feet up to sit cross legged in the back seat so Scott could take a turn stretching his long legs out in the front.

"You my new navigator?" Logan asked as Scott got settled in.

"Sure … just need a map," he said as he reached for the glovebox.

"Don't bother, there's no map in there," K said. "Not for Michigan anyhow. And you don't need it. Just stay on this road until Blaney Park … then head North on 77." She slid down to get comfortable, stretching out in the back seat. "You don't need a map in this state. Just a direction. And we're going west, then north, then west again. Easy."

"You gonna go to sleep without telling us where we're goin'?" Logan asked peeking over his shoulder at her.

"No, I'm not sleeping until we get home. Well.  _My_ home. It  _was_ home anyhow." K frowned to herself and then turned to Scott. "There are two bedrooms upstairs. You can have your pick - and if your Dad keeps it up, he can have the one across the hall from you."

Logan chuckled at that, smirking crookedly. "Not likely," he said, shaking his head at her.

Most of the rest of their trip was pretty easy going and quiet, though the closer they got, the less-impressive the roads got until they were going down two-tracks that were pretty reminiscent of where Logan had taken Scott hunting not  _that_ long ago. The road was rough - and in spots pretty questionable with the narrow trail, sheer rock outcroppings and the thirty foot drop off on one side that ended in a rough looking collection of rocks and trees. When she finally told them they were there - it wasn't entirely obvious. There was no real driveway going anywhere, and the spot she had them park was more or less a semi-cleared out spot under some old hemlocks.

"It's just down that path," K said as she shouldered her bag, though Scott had to frown to himself when he didn't  _see_ a path. He glanced over at Logan, who didn't seem to have any problem, so he simply decided to stick close to K - still looking at the ground and trying to glean any evidence of a path at all from the woods.

K led the way though what amounted to a game trail that weaved through the woods. It just seemed to go deeper and deeper into the trees - over a creek and through a thick section of moss that was spongy as they walked over it, but finally … she gestured with one hand at the little cottage set into the woods. "Oh, good. A tree  _didn't_ fall on it." She couldn't help but smile as she turned back to the two of them.

It didn't miss Scott's notice that Logan was outright smiling as they made the final stretch to the cottage. "Your kind of place, huh?" Scott said, trying and failing to repress the smile.

Logan turned toward him, eyes sparkling. "Oh yeah. Right kind of setting."

K was already opening the place up, and when Scott approached, he realized that it probably hadn't seen people in years. There was a fair bit of leaf litter on the front porch that looked as if it was a culmination of several seasons, and the posts that held up the little overhanging roof had unmistakable porcupine damage from where the spiny rodents had chewed on them. They followed her inside, and she made her way through the darkening house to kneel down at the wood burning stove and start working on a fire.

Logan had stepped in too, and he was looking around the place with an open expression, that showed clearly how he was more and more captivated with each additional photograph, keepsake, and letter that was framed and hanging on the walls.

The front door latched shut with a little bit of resistance, but once they were inside - and the fire was crackling cheerfully, K turned toward them. "So. Welcome." She got to her feet again and gestured toward the stairs. "Scott - like I said before - there are two bedrooms upstairs. Take your pick, make yourself comfortable. I'm … right here main floor." She turned to her right and gestured to the big windows that were black from where they were standing. "I promise, it's a lot nicer in daylight."

Scott looked around the place before he glanced over at Logan and let his shoulders relax at last with a small smirk. "It's great," he said, finally turning to K. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she told him with a little smile. "But so you know … I don't let anyone come here. It's just … always been me. So … do with it what you will."

Scott's eyebrows shot up at that before he broke into an honest grin, though he didn't say anything more but to head upstairs to pick out a bedroom, sure that the other one would stay empty anyway.

K took a moment to watch him zip up the stairs then turned to Logan. "And you … your call if you want to head upstairs or watch the fire or whatever, but I'm going to sleep." She tipped her head toward her door and then simply headed off, leaving Logan to explore the place. And though he had zero plans to stay upstairs, he did want to see what kind of accomodations Scott was getting to pick through.

He made his way upstairs and had to smirk at the old place - the ceilings were slanted along with the roof, making sure that it would be warmer in the winter, but also maybe a little rough for someone that was as tall as Scott was getting to be. He poked his head into one of the rooms, and then the other - though they were both set up about the same - log constructed bedframes and covered with heavy woolen plaid blankets. "You gonna be alright in this place?"

Scott glanced over at him and then nodded. "Yeah, it's quiet and away from people. That's what we need, right?" He smiled. "Plus, it reminds me of growing up."

Logan smirked at that and nodded. "Alright then. I think she's got the right idea. I already checked the place out - not much to do here but hunker down."

Scott nodded. "That's alright," he said.

"Water pump is outside, plumbing too. I'm gonna go sleep for a day or two if it's all the same to you," Logan said with a little smirk before he turned around and headed down the stairs.


	4. A Leader In The Making

It was almost serene waking up every morning in the little cottage tucked away in the woods. The ambient sounds that went hand in hand with being that deeply into the forest was all any of the three residents could hear outside of the distant sound of waves on the shore and wind in the trees.

In many ways, it was exactly like stepping back in time. Outdoor plumbing, no electricity, and a wood burning stove for heat and to cook with … but the rustic setting was good for all three of them.

For Logan and K it was simply a matter of going back into some of the old ways of doing things and using little tricks to make that style of living easier that had been long forgotten at least three generations ago. For Scott … it was almost like a living, breathing history lesson. And he honestly enjoyed it.

He wasn't really one to sit still for too long anyhow, so television and movies all the time wasn't really how he preferred to do things. The fact that they had to do  _so much_ to keep up the status quo was kind of relaxing. It kept his mind off of things when he had to haul water to cook with and wash dishes, and the fact that there was firewood to be split so they could cook, too.

He was just finishing up splitting with Logan when K breezed by them with a towel wrapped around herself and a bar of soap in her hand. "Lake's this way," she said, pointing down another non-existent trail. "It's cold, but it works."

Both of them stood there for just a moment watching her disappear into the trees, the chore of splitting temporarily forgotten. "You going to follow or …"

Logan turned Scott's way and couldn't help but laugh to himself. "No fun if it's too cold," Logan laughed before he simply went back to work. "Besides. Job ain't done yet. Just have to do it twice if I quit now."

Scott smirked and glanced down the trail one more time wondering to himself how far away the lake was. "Still … We're pretty secluded here …"

"Slim …"

"I'm just saying. What if we were followed?" He watched Logan go from shaking his head to honestly tensed as he thought about it and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling when he saw the instant protective urge pop up. And he couldn't hold it back at all when Logan swore under his breath.

"You're testing me, aren't you?" Logan said as he leaned the axe against the side of the house, though by that time, there was no way Scott would be able to hide it.

He shrugged in response as he set up the next log to be split. "Maybe."

Logan cursed under his breath, shaking his head before he started for the path K had taken, sure to ruffle Scott's hair as he passed him. "Scream if there's a problem."

"Yeah, okay," Scott said, almost snerking as he went to splitting wood again. They were only gone long enough for the birds to start singing and the squirrels to start playing around the cabin though before Scott was once again thinking.

The one drawback to having nothing but work to do was that it didn't engage his mind enough to keep him occupied. By the time Scott finished the little stack that Logan had set aside to last them through cooking and washing up afterward, Scott was almost somber. He looked around the woods and took in the sights and scents of the place that were strong enough that even he could place them … and he was trying to learn as much as he could about that too in case he ever had to describe something to Logan or K.

Scott sat down on the chopping block, his elbows on his knees as he closed his eyes and listened to the forest around him. He took a deep breath and tried to describe it to himself.  _Pine trees, of course. Not that it's any kind of shock. That's … God, it smells like home._  He frowned to himself and tried to get control of his emotions at the realization.  _It's a little different than Alaska. The moss smells different. And the ferns._ He concentrated hard, but couldn't quite figure it out. He felt something on the toe of his shoe and looked down to see an overly curious ground squirrel that was watching him carefully, but the moment he smiled, the striped little creature darted off to safety, barking and chittering at him from the other side of the wood pile.

He was smirking to himself when Logan and K came up the path. It was easy to spot her when she was in a bright white towel, after all, even though the glasses made everything red. Logan however was sopping wet and shirtless. "How was the lake?" he asked, to which Logan smirked.

"Cold."

"Not that cold," K argued, grinning outright when he pulled her closer and got her half soaked all over again.

"I'll take you down when you're ready," Logan said.

"And after you get a towel," K laughed. "I doubt you want to follow your dad's footsteps and just … dive in." She was grinning at Logan, and Logan didn't look the least bit apologetic about it. "You'll feel better after a quick rinse anyhow."

Scott nodded, and didn't wait for more of an invitation before he headed inside to grab a towel - though he gave Logan and K some time to get dressed again as he waited outside on the deck for Logan to take him to the lake.

But the little interludes had him thinking to himself about how long they could keep this up. He had no idea when the glow was on or not. Which meant he had no idea when someone outside of their very small circle could tell if he was a mutant - as if the red lenses weren't a dead giveaway that something was off anyhow.

Maybe this was the best case scenario for now. Hide out in the woods. Take a shot at being a unit. But then … if it didn't work out, then all the time spent was going to sting that much more. His thoughts were interrupted when Logan stepped out a short moment later - dried off and in clean clothes.

"Little overdue for a wash up, eh?" Logan said to Scott as they started down the trail.

"Yeah, little bit," Scott said, suddenly a bit self conscious of what a day of travel, and several days without running water might smell like to someone with enhanced senses.

He doubted Logan or K would ever  _say_ anything to him about it, of course. He didn't think that they would say or do anything to make him feel even more self-conscious than he already did - though that in itself had him feeling a little more aware of the glasses and the whole reason they'd had to leave South Carolina.

Like it or not, he knew he was different from his newfound family. In more ways than one.

The lake was something that Scott could hear clearly before they actually saw the deep blue inland sea. That's what smelled so different. His home in Alaska had the arctic ocean breeze blowing in - and this place …. "Lake Superior," Scott said, smirking to himself as he took it in. The beach was a sea of pebbles and fragmented rocks sticking up in places through the soft sugar sand. But the image of the massive lake was almost abrupt when stepping out of the tall, deep forests to see beach.

"Water's pretty shallow for quite a way out," Logan said. "Bit brisk though this early in the year." With that, Logan settled in on a flat bit of black rock that was a bit shaded by the gently swaying birch trees that lined the edge of the forest.

It was completely different than the beach they'd just left in South Carolina. Or the beach edged by forest back in Oregon. This felt almost like a totally different country when compared to the salt water places they'd hidden at so far.

With a quick glance over his shoulder that confirmed that Logan was simply stretching out to take in the still brisk breezes and the early season sun, Scott headed for the water's edge. And very nearly just backed right back out of it. The water wasn't just brisk. Or even cold. It was frigid.

He was very nearly holding his breath by the time he nearly forced himself in and tried to scrub up as fast as he could. He didn't want to  _not_ wash up when he knew that he couldn't smell that great, but he also could only stand so much of the incredibly cold water before he nearly jumped out of his skin and rushed back for the shore to try and get dry, and fast.

He shivered all the way back to the cottage, but when they did get back, he was flat out relieved to see that there was smoke coming out of the chimney, and even though his teeth were chattering, and he was half frozen, he didn't miss the scents that were drifting out of the cottage. K had found a way to cook something, or at least she'd made use of whatever they'd brought with them. There hadn't been anything of use in the cottage when they got there, and none of them had gone into town to buy anything.

"Warm blankets by the fire," K said as she moved the cast iron pan off of the wood burning stove.

Scott didn't wait to be told twice, though he did rush upstairs to get into clean clothes before he wrapped up in a blanket . K handed him a bowl of what looked to be some kind of stew, then she sat down across from him with a little smirk. "I can heat up some water for you next time," she offered. "I forget how most people don't have the cold tolerance we do." She pulled her feet up underneath herself and half-tucked into the couch with her own little bowl of stew. "And seeing as it's still early in the season … Sorry. It's not … always entirely liquid yet at this point in the year. I just wasn't thinking about it like that."

Scott smirked into his bowl and nodded. "It's okay," he said. "Like I said, it reminds me of home."

But that seemed to somehow get an even warmer smile from her. "You're going to make me blush, Caramel Mocha. Especially since this  _is_ home." She pulled her shoulders up to her ears. "And you're welcome for as long as you like - or to come back since … well. You know how to get here."

"Might be an overstatement," Logan said. "You were drivin' that last stretch and half the roads don't have signs on 'em." But K waved it off.

"You'd figure it out if you had to. It's all about direction, remember?"

Logan smirked and nodded to himself, and Scott had time during the silence that came after to try and figure out what it was that they were eating. "Snowshoe hare and partridge," Logan said. "They were near the cottage, so it wasn't a hard find."

"Fiddleheads will be ready in the next few days," K said between bites. "I'll grab them before the bears get moving."

But that had Scott smirking a little wider. He'd grown up on base, but even the airmens wives gathered the first harvests that the forest had springing up in patches. He had to wonder if this area was the same. "Does that mean mushrooms go along with them?" he asked, smirking to himself and waiting to see the reaction - which he had correctly predicted was completely pleased.

"Have you spent much time hunting for them?" K had to ask - not surprised at all when Scott shook his head lightly.

"The few times I went we were cut short by bears," he said. "Grizzlies with cubs …"

"Not overly friendly," K agreed, nodding. "Yeah, morels are just after the ferns, but the little game lives around here all over, and the smelt run should be going now, if you like a billion tiny fish."

"Sounds good to me," Logan said in a drawl as he took the seat next to K. The two of them curled into each other without a bit of prompting as if that had simply been the case from the very start.

Scott halfway watched them for a moment, smirking quietly to himself at the expression on his Dad's face as he rested his nose in K's hair. It wasn't until he saw Logan smirking a little wider that he even noticed that she had nearly the same expression. It really only just added to the peaceful moment, and began to seal it up in Scott's head that yes, outside of some very important paperwork … it looked like he might  _just_ have his family coming together.

* * *

The next few weeks passed the same way … there was a pop up blizzard late in the season that draped the little cottage with a thick blanket of snow, but when Scott saw it that morning, all he could do was smile. The cottage was warm, though there wasn't any change to what had become their little schedule deep in the woods. K puttered around to clean up after their meal - though Scott was sure to help by hauling water in for her and doing the heavy lifting while Logan headed out to do a little hunting and split more wood.

It wasn't easy living, but it felt good anyhow. Tucked in and safe with the forest embracing them, keeping them hidden.

Scott had taken to a little trail of his own … it didn't circle too far out, but it was a good loop for him to look for hares and partridge, carrying a .22 rifle over his shoulder as he went in case he got a shot. Of course, it was really more for his sanity - just to get out and move. Most of the game around the cottage had gotten the message that there were predators there, so they were smart enough to hunker down when one of them came by anyhow.

But at the furthest point out from the cottage, with Lake Superior roaring in the not too far distance, Scott paused and frowned to himself, wondering how long it would last. How long they could possibly just … stay hidden in the woods.

Though neither Logan nor K said anything about it, and almost pointedly refused to draw attention to it, Scott could tell now that the glow behind his red lenses was on far more often than it was off. He finally got to where he could feel that it was working, without needing to pay attention to his peripheral vision where sometimes … if he was lucky … he could see a bit of color. That was probably one of the worst parts now. Everything was always red now.

He took a few moments at the farthest spot on his loop and sat down on a fallen log. He already knew from previous trial and error that if he got started trying to work on control, he was often so overwhelmed by the intensity of it that he would need to sit down afterward anyhow.

Scott had thought it over long and hard. Shooting out over the lake toward Canada would be like lighting a beacon. And protecting K's hidden sanctuary was just as high on his priority list as keeping their budding family safe and learning how to control his optic blasts. He couldn't see any scenario where being reckless was something that could be excused there. Even for a moment.

So, he made his way over to the edge of the white cedars that bordered the little section of bog that K had pointed out to him as a spot to avoid walking in. From what Scott could remember from science class and the way these bogs were created to begin with … it should be safe for him to shoot  _into_ the peat. He was more than a little paranoid about shooting toward the ore laden outcroppings … he wasn't sure how powerful his blasts were, and he was concerned that if they were strong enough … it might look like seismic activity. So he'd just have to pay the price of wearing a little peat moss and bog muck.

He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate hard, focusing on 'off' as he took his glasses off and held them in both hands. He let out a slow breath, and set his jaw before he opened his eyes. He tried to control his reaction when the world looked red, but nothing had blown up, even though his heart rate had ticked up and he was breathing through his mouth to get more air. This was new.

Scott forced himself to keep his gaze locked onto the half-rotten log that had an inch of slushy snow on it still, but as he let out his breath and blinked a couple times, focused hard on using his abilities. Much sooner than he expected, he felt the change and he tried to control it. Two blinks later - the log blew up with a loud, sharp  _kzapt!_ He closed his eyes for a moment, his heart pounding in his ears as he worked to slow his breathing.

He didn't realize his hands were clenched in fists as he worked his jaw over, and he tried to ignore the creeping panic as he forced himself to focus harder. He opened his eyes, still focused to the same spot - and another blast hit. He repeated it over and over and over again, until he realized he simply had no way to know how to stop it. He was near the point of frustrated tears when he finally put his glasses back on and then looked around the clearing, taking in the damage.

Of course, he'd been right. The peat bog was no worse for wear - outside of bits of mud and peat now dangling from some of the tall white pines. The air around the bog smelled of wet dirt - moreso than it had half an hour before.

Whatever he was doing - it wasn't working. And like it or not, he knew they couldn't just stay there in the woods. If they did, he knew that it would only end with Department H eventually finding them - and then what? If they managed to get free again, K wouldn't have even that place to hide.

This wasn't working out like he'd wanted at all. He had his family, but even in the safety of the woods, they were on borrowed time, and he knew it. The trouble was that they didn't have any long term solutions. Not any that didn't hinge on him learning how to  _control_ his optic blasts. He paused in his trek back to the cottage, wondering to himself when he'd started referring to them like that.  _Probably when Xavier put a name to it_ , he thought to himself. Though that only had him wondering what else the man could know, if he had a fitting name for something like that … he probably  _did_ know how to fix it. Or … control it at the very least.

He stared at the cottage - now at least within sight. The smoke was curling up lazily from the stone chimney and he could feel the pull of the place that promised warmth of every kind as soon as he reached the doors. And for the first time, it hurt to think of it that way. His family inside that he was sure he'd have to leave now.

Scott's shoulders were slumped as he made his way up to the house. He knew what he had to do, even if it was a longshot. He just didn't know how Logan would react. He forced a smile when he got inside to find K and Logan working together in the kitchen.

He watched the two of them working … Logan doing the cooking for a change and K cutting up all that Logan needed to work with. He took his boots off and hung up his coat by the door before he made his way further inside and simply fell into step setting the table and getting ready for dinner. He didn't know how to handle it otherwise. And it wasn't exactly the conversation he wanted to have anyhow.

But he should have known it wasn't going to be long before one of them caught on that there was trouble brewing. "You alright, Scotty?" Logan asked as he looked up at him. "Ya look like someone ran over your dog."

"I've just been thinking it all over," Scott said in a breath.

"What part?" K asked, looking honestly concerned.

"All of it," Scott said. "I've been working on trying to get control … out at the peat bog. But … I have no way to stop it. I've figured out how to turn it on …. But then I can't get it to turn off."

Both of them were openly staring at him, but neither of them had anything to add or offer to Scott's thoughts. Until he finished what he was thinking. "I think I should call Professor Xavier and see if he can help me like he said."

You could hear a pin drop in the cottage as both ferals simply stared back at him in open shock. "We don't know anything about this guy," Logan said.

"I'm sure we could ask Captain America to look into it," Scott said reasonably. "And I'll bet the Avengers could find out anything you wanted." He paused and took a deep breath, his gaze momentarily going to the worn wood floors that showed decades of use, even though it was clear it had never been sanded or finished before he tipped his chin up a bit to look at his Dad. "If I can't fix this … it's just a matter of time before we get caught anyhow." Logan opened his mouth to say something but Scott kept going. "And if I can get a handle on it … then I can  _help_ when they come looking again instead of making it harder."

Logan held his gaze for a long moment, but Scott didn't miss the expression on K's face that clearly read that she did  _not_ like the idea of this one bit. But to his surprise, she didn't say a word.

"We'd have to go back to have Cap look into it  _first_ ," Logan said, not dropping Scott's gaze. "Can't risk callin' 'em and expectin' the Department not to intercept the call."

Scott drew in a breath and nodded his head. "Whenever you guys are ready to move, then," he said.

Logan nodded his head and Scott let out a breath that showed exactly how much that one decision took the weight off of him.

"I'll start packing," K said, though much of the cheer she'd had going on had simply vanished as she headed into her room.

"She'll be fine," Logan said. "Pack up, we'll head out in the dark."

Scott nodded, though he was looking toward where K had disappeared. "If there was a way to … if I knew  _how_ to control it, I wouldn't…" He let out a breath and turned back to Logan. "This is just temporary. Until I can get a handle on this. You and K…" He trailed off, looked back to where K was, and just let it drop. "Yeah, I'll get packed."

Logan watched Scott head up the stairs before he made his way over to where K was carefully and quickly putting her things back into her bag. "You alright?"

"Oh, sure," K said, nodding, though she didn't turn to look at him as she kept working.

"You know you can't lie to me, right?" Logan said as he stepped up behind her and rested a hand at her hip. She paused and turned to look at him.

"Yes. I'm well aware," K promised. "This falls into the 'trying to be tactful' category."

"Don't," Logan said, shaking his head. "Go ahead and tell me what the problem is."

She narrowed her eyes and thought it over for a long moment before she shook her head lightly. "Not my place."

The shock was plain enough to see on Logan's face as he leaned toward her on hearing it. "Of course it is," he said, shaking his head already. "That kid thinks the world of you. You can speak up."

But she shook her head again and turned to get back to her work. "No. This is between the two of you."

"You're travelling with us," Logan argued quietly, then he paused as he watched her fill the bag with clothes. "Or are you thinking of parting ways?"

"No," was her only response before she picked up her bag and turned to give him a quick kiss that she ended before he was quite ready for it to be over. "I'll start the clean up and meet you boys at the truck."

Logan stared after her for a few moments before he grabbed his bag and followed suit. He didn't know her well enough to know where her head was at, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that she didn't like the idea of Scott going to Xavier. At all.

* * *

K was, of course, the one to start the drive from her hideaway. She kept her eyes on the trail as she wove between trees and down the muddy trail without once looking as if she was going to question their decision to return to New York. of course, that likely could have been because the trail had deteriorated a bit since they'd first come to hide in the woods and recuperate.

"Going through Detroit?" Logan tried to tease after they'd put some miles behind them, but long before they came up on the bridge again.

"Too close to the international crossing," she said dismissively.

"Wasn't too close before," Logan said, frowning slightly.

"That was a few weeks ago," K said in a reasonable tone. "And i'm not repeating a road if I can avoid it."

He frowned slightly, but let it drop since she obviously wasn't in the mood to pick.

The two adults seemed more distant to each other the further they were from K's little cottage.

She wasn't unfriendly, but the level of flirtation was far less than it had been before, and both Logan and Scott were wondering what exactly it meant. But if it was weighing heavy on Logan's mind, he wasn't showing it much. Not when he was so busy trying to plot out a plan on how to best look into this Xavier guy.

He was sure that Steve had looked into him after that little stunt last time, but it wasn't always easy to find anything on people when you wanted to. And gathering intel like that took  _time._ Which, as both K and Scott had pointed out repeatedly, they simply didn't have a lot of.


	5. Vetting the Professor

Of course both Logan and Scott bristled when the first person outside of the butler to greet them on arrival was Stark. And he started his hello by scooping K up bodily into a rather involved kiss. "Knew you'd be back for more," Tony said before he set her on her feet. He didn't let her step back though, and his hands were a bit out of normal acceptable territory, but to her credit, she was pushing on his shoulders before the kiss had ended.

"Tony, no," K said, turning her head before he could steal another kiss.

"Hey, come on," Tony said, still smiling at her. "We had a deal, remember? You promised you'd lighten up on the hard line the next time you came around, which … I estimated to be two or three weeks." He paused and tipped his head to the side slightly, but still hadn't loosened up his grip. "So, that was a little bit of an underestimation …. But not by that much."

She turned back to face him and blinked a couple of times, doing the math for herself in her head before she couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, Mr. Stark," she said - which only got him to smile wider until she caught his jaw in one hand as he began to lean forward. "But that hinged on me not being involved with someone else. And I  _am_ involved."

"Didn't look like it," Tony pointed out, though he did finally let her take a step back. "That is if you're talking about short and stabby over here since I'm sure the kid's too young. You … aren't …" he stopped and frowned as Logan gave Stark a glare, though he didn't move forward until K took a step toward him. "No. Not  _Wolverine._ "

"Yes," K said, which prompted Tony to let out a breath as Logan began to make his way down the hall to find Steve.

"Then where's your good mood?" Tony asked, falling into step half a pace behind her. "You should still be in the honeymoon phase if you're having a good time …."

"Mr.  _Stark_ ," K said wheeling around to face him, but for as close as he was, there wasn't a lot of breathing room. He stopped just shy of running into her, but again, didn't back up more than what he needed to keep his balance and remain upright. "My good mood is hidden away where we were. All of us were perfectly content where we were until we found that we needed to come back  _here._ But, you know … there is something you can do for me."

Tony grinned. "That's what I've been telling you, sweetheart. Whenever you're ready."

She smiled tightly and held his gaze for a long moment. "Now. Right now would be good."

Tony hesitated for just a moment but offered her his arm. He started to lead her down a different hall, but she paused, stopping hard enough to pull him to a stop with her. "Unless there's a computer down there … I'm not interested."

"Compu-" Tony was frowning now, his smile entirely gone. "What the hell for?"

"I need access to information. I'm telling you upfront so you can  _give me what I need_. But if you want to play games, I'll find one myself and just take it."

"That … is both enlightening and a little scary."

"Mr. Stark …"

"Right. You're not doing this for some kind of corporate espionage, are you?"

"I need to look into someone and I doubt that all the routes that Logan and Steve are going to take will show me what I want to know."

He smirked and leaned in a little closer. "So … you want to use my computer to dig up dirt on someone … using entirely not-approved methods?" Tony asked, the smirk starting to tug at the corner of his mouth.

"Did I stutter?"

"No, no … just … yeah. Alright, but I'm going to stay with you."

"Afraid of what I might find on you?" she asked.

"No, I'm sure you've already found everything you  _need_ on me. At least … all that you can without getting around to giving me a pat down, which I'm perfectly fine with," Tony laughed. "I want to watch you work - offer help if I can … maybe have you enlighten me as to what is so attractive about a nomadic little murderer."

K paused and put a hand on either side of his neck, cradling his head as she leaned toward him slightly. "I don't know, Tony … why don't  _you_ tell me what's so attractive about a nomadic little murderer."

"You wear it better," he blurted out then grinned. "I saw the photos, by the way. Did some digging and found stuff that  _Agent Coulson_ couldn't delete or otherwise destroy. You … you were their little secret weapon. All the highest dollar soirees, the high level assassinations … you did everything they made him do - but in a cocktail dress, heels, and in plain sight without getting caught."

"And you still want to play in dangerous waters," K said, frowning at him lightly. "I thought you were smart."

"Oh, I am," he said, grinning again. "Smart enough to know that you shouldn't be unsupervised in this building for even a few minutes." He took her arm this time to lead the way. "You had the run of this place last time, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," K said loftily. "Do you have anything that says I was running around causing trouble?"

Tony laughed, but it was hard even for K to tell how much of it was genuine. "Ah, no. And you know that. You were careful to cover your tracks and avoid all the cameras, but there were small, tiny .." He was holding his other hand with his fingers not quite touching, and his eyes were narrowed. "... itty bitty little points of reference that were  _wrong_ on my security. If you didn't warn me about the corporate spies, I wouldn't have even known to look. So yes, I know you were poking around."

"And you were willing to overlook that if I 'lightened up' and played a few rounds of naked twister?" K said, shaking her head slowly. "Mr. Stark …"

"As … a means to keep  _you_ out of trouble," Tony said, though he paused. "And … Let's face it. It would be fun."

"Very likely," K had to laugh, and that at least, seemed to pacify him.

The two of them made their way to where Steve, Logan, and Scott were talking, and when the three of them looked up, Steve looked openly confused by Tony's expression. "Just wanted to know which routes you're looking into," Tony said, doing his best not to give anything away, even though K was smirking to herself.

"We're just now figuring out where to look … this guy's files look clean," Steve said.

"No one's entirely clean," K argued as she started to look over what Steve had.

"He's from New York City, well respected family … graduated with PhD's in genetics, biophysics, psychology, anthropology … an MD in psychiatry, and most recently … he was an adjunct professor at Columbia. The guy's an egghead," Steve said, his hands on his hips as he watched her read.

"Sounds awful," Tony deadpanned.

"He also served time in the Army," Steve said with a smug sort of expression.

"Doing what?" Tony scoffed.

"Rescue missions," Steve said as he dropped the military file in front of Tony. "He's got a few questionable acquaintances … but nothing criminal. Nothing that really looks bad that I can find - outside of the fact that he says he's starting a school for youngsters when the only experience he has is with college age psych students."

K tipped her head and let out a little 'hmm' as she stepped further away from Tony and dove into the files. She absently reached for a tablet of paper that was nearby, which Tony slid to her with an interested expression as she started making notations on the paper. She was almost glaring at the dossier, reading through it quickly. "Where did you get this from?"

"Ah, Agent Coulson handed it over," Steve replied, though he was watching K a little more closely too. Obviously, Tony had shared what he'd found on K.

"So it's already been scrubbed of anything noteworthy," K said, but that got an honestly amused look out of Logan.

"That's exactly what I was sayin', darlin'," Logan said.

K glanced up at him with a crooked sort of smirk and trouble dancing in her gaze. "Then it's a waste of time to go looking too many places when we know who has the goodies," K said, and Logan was nodding solemnly at her assessment. She held his gaze for a moment and Logan had to smirk on seeing that the wheels were so clearly turning. "The source for this was your connection to the pentagon, right?" K asked Tony, who took a step back and had to nod.

"Hardwire connection, yeah," Tony admitted. "But also SHIELD."

"But the sources were all from connected methods in DC and New York?" K asked, trying for clarification.

"Yes. The only other spot for this stuff would be Director Fury himself," Steve said, though that didn't seem to bother K in the least.

"Okay then." K held Logan's gaze for a long moment. "So. I'll just zip off, and be back in three shakes."

"No freakin' way," Logan said, already shaking his head. "I'll do it."

"You need to stick with your boy, and I can fit in smaller spaces."

"No."

"Wait, what's the plan?" Tony asked, though Steve looked just as confused.

"Nothing," both little ferals replied at the same time before they held each other's gaze and started to run through an entire series of slight, almost invisible hand signals in a rapid pace that had Tony and Steve sharing a confused glance.

They didn't look like they were going to stop any time soon either before Steve cleared his throat. "I don't know what you two are considering, but whatever it is, you need to stop."

Logan and K both looked up at him as if he was speaking a foreign language. "What do you mean?" K said quietly.

"What kind of code are you two using?" Tony asked, for the first time, not deterred when K spun toward him with an inviting smile. Which, actually, had her relaxing a little.

"That's the first time you've shown me that you can focus on something other than sex," K said, which seemed to insult Tony exactly as much as she'd hoped.

"Hey. I can focus just fine," he argued, almost squaring up at the clear challenge.

"Uh huh," K said, raising one eyebrow. "This is the best you could do without the distraction. I'm entirely sure that if I were to sit with you and whisper sweet nothings that you'd be totally worthless for what I'm after."

"But - not for what I'm after," Tony said.

And there it was. K tipped her head to the side as Logan started to growl. "Yeah, that's … that's just not going to happen." She looked over at Logan and gave him a little smile. "I'm going to go find something to wear. Can you be ready in half an hour?"

"Consider it done," Logan agreed.

"Wait. What are you two up to?" Steve said again.

"Don't worry about it, Cap," Logan said as he pushed back from the table. "Just gonna show my girl a good time."

"You know you can't go  _out,_ Logan," Steve called back before he turned to Scott. "Do you know what those two are up to?"

"No idea," Scott replied, looking honestly out of the loop, his eyebrows high on his head since he didn't even know that the two of them even had a shared code to talk to each other like that. Not that he didn't realize where they knew it from.

* * *

Very little time had passed before Tony and Steve fell into a silent agreement of their own and went off in search of the two ferals. Steve headed for Logan's room and Tony for what was K's, since he still wasn't ready to believe that she and Logan were an item.

When Steve got to the room, Logan was there, digging through his rucksack. "What are you two up to? Really," Steve asked as he let himself in and leaned in the open door, his arms crossed.

"Just gonna try to find out whatever this Xavier guy is hiding," Logan replied.

"What if there's nothing?"

"There's never nothing," Logan argued, but as Steve was ready to argue the point, he noticed that K's bag was on the floor not far from where Logan was standing.

"So the two of you …" Steve said, tipping his chin up and pointedly looking at K's bag.

"Yeah," Logan replied, nodding lightly, which only had Steve smiling crookedly.

"She's pretty," Steve said - trying to go for conversational. "And dangerous."

"Ticks two off the checklist right there," Logan muttered.

"Do I want to know what the other things on your checklist are?"

"Probably not, but so far she's hittin' every damn one of 'em."

"She must be if you're splitting a room already."

"Have been for a while," Logan admitted.

"Yeah?" Steve asked, not even bothering to hide the smile. "You haven't been gone long enough for it to be 'a while' unless …"

"More or less since we left here if you gotta know," Logan said. "Don't … make a thing out of it. Control your face fer christsakes."

"I'm just saying," Steve said grinning openly. "It's a good look on you. Whatever this is that you  _don't_ want to talk about."

"Shut up, Cap," Logan grumbled as Stark made his way to the two of them.

"Alright where is she? I don't have her on camera leaving but she sure as hell isn't here," Tony said, looking somewhere between panicked and angry.

"Maybe she found Janet and went shoppin'," Logan said easily, though it was such an off handed almost prepared remark that Steve paused and frowned when he realized that was probably the very last place that K was.

"Yeah, no," Tony said, looking more to the side of angry now. "What are you two up to?"

Logan gestured to the bags. "Settling in for a short layover," he said.

"Where  _is she_?" Tony asked, but Logan narrowed his eyes at him.

"I don't control what she does. She wanted a few hours to herself. Seein' as she's had nothin' but a bunch of men breathin' down her neck since she got tangled up with us, I obliged." Logan calmly went back to what he'd been doing - pulling out a few clothes of his own before he headed over to K's bag and did the same for her.

"Seriously …"

"The woman wanted some breathing room," Logan said. "I'm not about to try an' tell her no." Logan waved one hand at them. "Let it go."

Tony took a few seconds to stare at Logan as if he'd lost his mind before he turned and left the room - ready to start a full scale search for her if need be. He darted past Jan and Scott and rushed to his wing of the house.

For the rest of the evening, Logan flatly refused to answer anyone's questions about K and instead simply went about his business as well as he could, even settling in to watch a hockey game with a beer in hand.

It wasn't until well after everyone had more or less given up the idea that they might figure out what was going on - or better still  _find her -_ when K finally came in with a shopping bag dangling from one wrist and a bag of bagels in her free hand. She  _strutted_ past Steve and Tony when they realized that she was back, though even they couldn't miss the fact that she was decked out in head to toe black, though it was stylish all the same, and the high ponytail and dark glasses made it unclear if she'd actually  _just_ been shopping rather than starting up something.

In fact, if they didn't suspect what she'd been up to, she certainly  _looked_ as if she'd simply come in from a shopping trip … which had Steve and Tony both looking more than a little bit confused.

Until of course, Coulson came in looking borderline thunderous.

"You promised you wouldn't ever do that again," he said with no prompting.

K blinked twice and then spun smoothly to face him. "Do what?" she said, keeping the poker face, though it had both Avengers in the room suddenly on much higher alert.

Coulson looked somehow more upset as he tried to keep his reaction in check. "K, I'm not in the mood to play games."

"I'm not playing games," she replied.

"Then what were you doing in Director Fury's office? And don't try to say it wasn't you. I know better."

"What ….  _How_?" Tony asked, looking somewhere between shocked and impressed. "That's … that's on the helicarrier. Which is airborne."

"Do you fly?" Steve asked, which only got a laugh out of Logan.

"You mean without an aircraft? No," K said, simply making herself at home by where Scott was sitting, going so far as to carefully hand him a wrapped, sugar-dusted muffin while he looked at her like she had sprouted wings out of the top of her head. Obviously, they hadn't told him about any of this - and he hadn't  _heard_ his guardians discussing anything, so he wasn't sure if he was more impressed by the secrecy, by the mission itself, or by the way K had managed to do it all without getting caught.

"Then how did you get up there?" Steve pressed as he and Tony joined Coulson, arms crossed and waiting for an answer.

"And in broad daylight to boot … what did you  _do_?" Tony asked.

K narrowed her eyes and looked at each of them in turn.

"Might as well tell 'em," Logan said.

"No," K replied, shaking her head lightly. "Trade secret." She pointed a finger at Coulson. "And  _you_ were holding back intel on this Xavier guy. For shame, Phil. If I had gotten all I needed, you wouldn't have made me go looking."

"There was nothing that you didn't already know," Coulson argued.

"I didn't know about the papers he'd published on mutations," K said. "Or how he came to be in a wheelchair." She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow his way.

"I didn't think it was pertinent," Coulson said.

"You were wrong," K replied, then turned toward Logan and Scott. "When you two are ready …"

"I'd like to hear this," Tony said, his brow furrowed as he watched her.

"Too bad," K said dismissively. "It doesn't concern you." She gave both Avengers a cold sort of look with her arms crossed as she waited for them to leave.

"We're not done here," Coulson warned.

"Not now, Phil," K replied. "I picked up a bottle of that scotch you like so much."

"Is that an attempt at a bribe?" Coulson said, though the scowl softened as she made her way over, bottle in hand.

"Of course not," she replied as she pressed the bottle in his hands and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. "Now get out."

Coulson gave her a look, but it wasn't any time at all before he let out a breath and headed for the door where Stark and Cap had already retreated to. She followed him so that as soon as they were all out, she closed the door on them with a little smile and waved at them with the tips of her fingers as the door shut.

As soon as the echo from the door closing stopped, K turned and smoothed out the fabric that covered her stomach, smiling at Logan and Scott before she started toward them, all business. "So first of all, I'm not entirely sure what this guy is up to," K said, not waiting for either of them to even ask. "He actually seems to be on the up and up from what I could find - which is probably why Fury hasn't tried to shut him down yet."

"You think he's on the level?" Logan asked, but at that, K shrugged her shoulders up to her ears.

"I … can't prove it. He's got several papers on evolution - specifically human evolution and his theories on mutants. So … I mean," K let out a breath. "He could be on the level? But he could also just be looking for subjects to prove his theories. The fact that he hasn't got anyone  _at_ his 'school' yet kind of makes me wonder."

Logan didn't look overly pleased at that part of her report back, and Scott looked more than a little nervous. "What… kind of theories?" he asked.

"Most of it just follows Darwin, if you want to compare it, but I have the files if you want to read them," she said with a self satisfied sort of smile. "Since they weren't  _pertinent_ anyhow." She straightened up a little bit and lifted the back of her shirt, fiddling around for a moment until she broke through the tape that she'd wrapped around herself to sneak the files out. "They're long and a little rambly, but it seems to be firmly rooted in observation, not trying to make it happen. So there's that, anyhow."

"You think that's all there is to it?" Logan asked, and she shrugged again.

"Hard to tell with the scientific types," she said. "But … considering that everything I found - or  _they_ found - centered on his humanitarian efforts, much of it being things he funded himself? He might just be the real deal."

Scott still looked a bit nervy as he looked over the files K had taken. "See…" He took in a deep breath. "What… kind of humanitarian - not like 'running an orphanage'?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "He was helping traumatized holocaust victims in Israel and Egypt. Himself - in the street. Not some funding thing - and he wasn't the only person there. There was an established group helping there that he joined." She tapped the file. "That general trip is where he lost the use of his legs, by the way. The details are glossed over in the file, but somehow he ended up pinned under a massive rock in the Himalayas. Kind of a mystery on how he was found. According to the file anyway. Guy is well travelled, either way."

"But since we know he's a telepath, mystery solved," Logan added, looking through a different section of the file.

"That actually sounds like he's living up to, well,  _charitable_ aims," Scott said almost cautiously. "I mean, if he was doing it himself."

"Still don't trust 'im," Logan muttered. "You wanna go, that's fine, but we won't be far off."

"The fact that he's not working for anyone - and that he's a mutant himself - kind of makes it at least sound less … out there," K added.

Scott nodded slowly. "I want to read this first," he said. "But I think… there's no way to know unless I go, if there's no one else… if I'd be the first, I mean."

"Still not gonna be entirely alone," Logan added. "Not until you decide either way."

"And … we get a chance to dig into him a little more up close and personal," K added. "Of course … I'm sure Logan can take a turn and go run through the guy's house first. The nervous boys here will be watching me closer now."

"Yeah, that's happenin' either way," Logan muttered.

"I'm sure it would be perfectly reasonable to ask for a walk-through," Scott offered. "Then you can know if he's lying about… anything you want to ask him, really."

"What? And give him time to hide any dirty deeds?" K said with a little laugh. "No."

"I'm just saying - if I'm the first student, it's not like he has records to go through of anyone else," Scott pointed out.

"I'd be more interested to make sure he doesn't have somewhere set up to lock you in the basement," Logan said, perfectly frank in his tone.

At that, Scott swallowed and nodded once. "Yeah. That's… definitely something we should rule out first before I call him."

Logan nodded at that and let out a deep breath as he looked over at the clock. "Alright. You two … head down to where all the paranoid ones are. Tell 'em I'm lookin' over all this."

"Can't I stay and read through it too?" Scott asked with a frown. "I want to look over the research."

"Sure," Logan said. "Don't see why not."

"I'll head down and grab dinner for you then I'll have Tony help me dig into everyone associated with Xavier," K said. "Seeing as we're getting close to that and I'll probably need to pretend like I care what the  _Avengers_ have to say."

"Just talk to Jan," Scott said with a small smile. "She's pretty much in favor of wrapping me in bubble wrap? So…"

"I'll talk to all of them," she promised, smiling back at him. "They may not like that I won't answer them, but I'll talk to them." She got to her feet and gave Scott a kiss on top of the head before she stole a decent kiss from Logan. "Good luck. Try not to stab anyone that isn't asking for it."

Scott waited until K was gone before he looked up at Logan and tipped his head to the side. "I'd like to learn the signs you were throwing around," he said. "So I can keep up. And help."

Logan turned his way and weighed it out for a moment. "Alright. It's not standard stuff. See anyone else usin' those signs, get the hell away from 'em."

Scott nodded quickly. "Yeah, I thought that was where you'd both learned them."

"I can teach you the ones Cap's Howling Commandos used too," Logan said.

Scott couldn't help but grin at that. "Yes, please."

Logan couldn't help but smirk at that as he nodded. "We'll start when I get back with a good feel on this guy." He got to his feet and headed over to switch out his flannel and white tee for black - which was the only change he made before he gave Scott a little wink and bailed out of the window, hitting the ground running and leaving Scott with a little homework to do.


	6. The Family That Plots Together

The next morning, the Avengers were starting to get a little suspicious when the early coffee hour passed by with no sign of Logan. They were entirely sure that something was up when K and Scott came down for breakfast - without Logan.

But it wasn't proveable without going to look for him and that was dismissed when he showed up finally - through the front door. He didn't say a word as he grabbed some coffee and took a seat next to K, who gave him a little kiss and reached up to pull a leaf out of his hair as if that was perfectly normal for anyone first thing in the morning.

The two of them took a moment to do a few of the rapid-fire signing they'd done on their arrival, though this time, both Steve and Tony were watching as closely as Scott for the subtle adjustments of how their hands were gesturing, and after a moment, K nodded once and simply settled deeper into her chair without any further back and forth.

Scott watched them for a minute before he cleared his throat and asked to be excused. "I need to make a phone call."

"We'll be right here waiting for you," Logan replied.

Scott nodded at that before he went down the hall to where he knew there was a phone on the wall of the sitting room to get a little privacy away from the group in the kitchen. He still had Charles Xavier's card, which was well worn down at this point from how many times he'd taken it out of his pocket to look at it.

He took a deep breath before he dialed the number, almost holding it before there was an answer on the other end. "Hello, Professor Xavier? This is Scott Summers," he said in the breath that he finally let out.

"Mr. Summers," he said, sounding perfectly pleased. "How lovely to hear from you again. What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you were still looking for applicants to your school," Scott admitted.

"Of course," Charles replied. "I'd be delighted to have you here."

"I'd want to walk through with my parents first - my, um, my dad and his friend," he corrected himself, turning red at the ears as he ducked his head down and almost curled around the phone, hoping no one had heard his slip up.

"Easily arranged," Charles said - his tone was still perfectly warm. "When would the three of you like to come out and take a tour?"

"Is Monday too soon?" Scott asked, hoping he didn't sound like he was overly anxious about it. He really did want to learn how to deal with his powers, but he was trying to be cautious, too.

"That would be delightful. How does Monday afternoon sound? Around two-o'clock," Charles offered. "If you're still downstate, it would give you time to travel easier. No reason to make yourselves rush."

"That would work, thanks," Scott said, nodding to himself as he let out a breath.

"I look forward to seeing you all then," Charles said.

Scott nodded again, even if Charles couldn't see it. "Thanks again," he said before he ended the call, feeling somehow just as stressed as before, since there was still the walk-through to do, though the further he got toward the kitchen, the more he felt like he at least had a plan, something concrete to move forward on, and that was enough to get him almost smiling to himself.

K was laughing at Tony and Steve's attempts to figure out their code when Scott returned looking almost relieved and trying not to smile too widely. "How was your phone call?" she asked, giving Tony the finger as a means to show him  _one_ sign he'd get right.

"Got a walk-through scheduled for the school," Scott said with a nod. "So, hope you don't mind parent-teacher conferencing."

"Haven't had trouble so far," Logan said with a little smirk as he thought of how the last principal had handled things when Logan put the screws to him.

"New experience," K said before she bumped Scott with her shoulder. "Of course … if it wasn't for the being nosy and wanting to keep an eye on things, I could just wait here …"

"No, I… told him I'd be bringing both of you," Scott admitted, one hand on the back of his neck.

"Oh, good. I just had to give you an out," she said. "As much as I'm invested, I'm not going to push. I know you've got a good thing going already and I don't want to screw that up."

"Hey, the last few weeks have been great," Scott said with a smirk and a nod.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said with a little smile his way. "That's the most cozy that place has been in years."

"So when's the walk through?" Logan asked.

"Monday afternoon," Scott said. "At two. And then I guess we'll see from there if I'm enrolling."

Logan nodded at that. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed. He took a moment to look toward Tony and then Cap before he pushed back from the table. "Pretty sure we needed to go over a few things, kiddo."

"Away from the nosy guys here," K added, though she was smirking at Jan, who nodded sagely.

Scott nodded quickly and followed Logan back to his room, where he seemed to get somehow even more relaxed, glad to have his part done and to have them both there to back him up.

"Nothin' too out of the ordinary, by the way," Logan said. "There was some kind of machine in the basement - but no one's scent but his. So I think you're alright. I'll be able to tell you more once we get in."

"Wait," Scott said, turning to face Logan at that, suddenly clearly more stressed than before. "What?"

Logan held up both hands. "It lines up with some of the stuff that SHIELD has on him. Like the guy's tryin' to increase his abilities. There were plenty of scents of other people in the rest of the house. That was just him. I don't think it's for anyone else to use." He gave Scott a look. "We're not just dropping you off with this guy and you can bet K will question him on everything that's hidden."

Scott took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."

"In the meantime, we can teach you a few of those signs."

At that, Scott did break into a grin. "Can we start with the Howling Commandos?"

"Don't see why not," Logan agreed before he paused and made a point to slowly show him one right off the bat then started explaining them to him. "You can ask Cap too. He'd get a kick out of it."

"Maybe I'll sign it to him," Scott said with a small smirk.

Logan let out a little laugh. "Yeah. Do that later. After K's done torturing them with non-signs. He won't see it coming."

Scott grinned a little more at that. "Thanks, Dad."

"Not a problem," Logan replied as they started going through a whole system.

And as promised, by the time that dinner rolled around, Scott's head was full of signs - and Tony and Steve both were frustrated by K's total uncooperativeness in decoding some that she and Logan had been using. Though K was in a great mood and had clearly been laughing for quite some time - to Jan's total entertainment.

"It … would be so useful," Tony said in a pleading tone. "Think of iving us a better way to do decode what Weapon X is up to … all you have to do is just …  _teach me something_. Anything."

K only grinned wider at that and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I don't teach remedial students, stud."

Tony stared at her open mouthed for a moment as Steve burst out laughing. He looked absolutely harried by the time Logan and Scott showed up - his normally coiffed hair sticking up in several places from how completely flustered he was. But K had managed to keep Tony at least occupied all day. And more than completely frustrated.

And as Logan had predicted, Steve very nearly missed it when Scott signalled to him. There was a definite double take on Steve's part before he frowned slightly, his head tipped to the side as he watched Scott's hands - and then a huge grin followed. "Is  _that_ what you two have been up to all day?"

Scott couldn't stop the beaming smile as he looked up at Steve. "I only know a few so far…"

"You're doing  _great_!" Steve insisted. "What else do you know?" For every sign or signal that Scott demonstrated, Steve's smile seemed to grow wider until he couldn't help but laugh. "That's amazing. Really - you'll have it all down in no time."

And with that, he turned to Tony. "Hey, Stark - you've been interrogating the wrong one if you want codes."

"In his defense, I'm terrible at being interrogated," K said. "And … he's a really horrible interrogator."

Tony shot an incredibly dry and unamused look K's way as she got to her feet and headed over to Logan and Scott. "I can help with some other ones," she offered to Scott - but that only got a scoff of disbelief from Tony.

"Sure," Scott said with a muted smirk. "I'm a fast learner."

"Yeah, you are," Steve agreed, still grinning at him. "Think you might let me in on that too?"

Logan and K shared a look and after a moment, both of them nodded. "Might not hurt for you to know," Logan said.

As Steve kept on smiling, Tony looked ready to hit something and Jan was outright laughing at the look on his face. "You're purposely trying to tick me off," Tony said, half glaring at K, who tipped her head to the side and started nodding.

"Your point?" She said with a little smile. "Because … you said you could handle it … and clearly if you're this frazzled… you cannot." It wasn't until Tony simply gaped at her for a long moment that she rolled her eyes and turned toward Logan, who gave her one little nod. "Okay,  _fine_." She said. "But only if you can keep up with Scott and Steve."

"Looks like we'll be stuck with the remedial learner," Steve said over Scott's shoulder - just loud enough to rile Tony up all over again.

"Hey!" Tony said, even getting to his feet as he made his way over to the little group. "I'm nowhere  _near_ remedial in  _anything._ "

K bit her lip and almost cringed but that got the best reaction yet as he let his shoulders drop. "Oh no … no, you … you don't get to even pretend like you know that much," Tony said, pointing a finger her way, but that had her falling apart laughing.

* * *

By the time Monday came around, Logan was on edge, but he wasn't showing it enough to tip off what he was thinking. He had read through everything that K had found on Xavier - and he'd even done a little preliminary work himself, but that didn't change the fact that he didn't know for  _sure_ what the story was with the gear in the basement.

Among other things that he wasn't prepared to alert Scott to yet. Like the jet. That wasn't normal even by overly rich philanthropist standards. Not when it was in a hidden hangar anyhow. He'd told K what he'd found - if nothing else because he knew another set of trained eyes would be priceless in this situation.

The drive up was pretty quiet - and Logan drove while K and Scott spent their time running through a few of the signs Scott was still working on - just to pass the time and keep him from worrying too much. After all, Logan had already decided if the guy was a creep - he wouldn't be for long.

The last leg of the drive was particularly peaceful - and the late spring looked good on the surrounding trees that lined the road on both sides. It was quite the impression for Scott to take in when they finally came to the end of the long stone fence that held the gates to the newly minted 'Xavier Institute for Higher Learning'.

The grounds were perfectly manicured, and the building itself seemed to fit the property perfectly - even if it was more or less in the middle of nowhere.

"You ready for this?" Logan had to ask as they put the truck into park.

Scott nodded quickly. "I'd rather know one way or the other if this is even an option," he said, tapping a finger against the side of his glasses.

"Stay positive, Caramel Mocha," K advised. "You've got to have a shot at things being better." She gave him a little smile from the back seat before they got out of the truck and headed for the wide, arched front doors. Though when they were rung in and then turned to see the master of the house, K visibly paused for just a moment - clearly recognizing the wheelchair bound man with a little 'oh'.

She recovered quickly enough, and put on an honest smile as Logan introduced the three of them and for his part, there was little more than a confused sort of double take before their host looked them over carefully and then invited the three of them in.

Charles didn't waste any time showing them around - and while doing so, he was sure to go into what it was he was trying to do there for young mutants, outlining not only his insistence that the young people that he would teach would have every opportunity, but also outlining in more vivid detail his vision for the future of peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants. Throughout the afternoon, he was sure to offer plenty of opportunity for any of the three of them to ask questions, though neither Logan or K took him up on it. Instead, they were leaving the door open for Scott to ask whatever might pop into his head as the leisurely tour continued.

Scott for his part seemed genuinely interested in at least that angle of things - the idea of humans and mutants getting along when everything he'd seen so far outside of the Avengers said differently. It was a totally different viewpoint to his guardians' - a lot more optimistic about people, and he did actually seem to love the idea of it. The possibilities were so much wider if Xavier's dream could even get its roots worked into the rough world.

Other than the philosophical discussion, the tour covered everything that seemed typical of a boarding school - the classrooms, the dormitories … the way that the occasional staff was handled for taking care of the students and hopefully with time, a bigger staff than just Professor Xavier himself to teach.

What they hadn't expected - but perhaps should have from a telepath - was the point in the tour where he paused and then shifted directions to take them sublevel. Of course, he started out by showing them the gym and the medical area - since it was a rather long way to medical help should an accident arise, but nothing about it said anything to any of them outside of 'boarding school' thus far.

To both Logan and Scott's surprise, K hadn't said more than two words after laying eyes on the man, and she was clearly unsure of how to handle him. Until it seemed that the tour had ended, and there were still several hallways that extended deeper through the building.

"Do you have any questions?" Charles asked, the pleasant smile still in place.

Logan and Scott shared a glance then before Scott cleared his throat and spoke up. "So, do you think you can help me with this?" he asked, tapping the side of his glasses again. "I mean, it all sounds really good, and a lot of your ideas are interesting, but I can't exactly… turn my power off, and that's really why I wanted to come to you," he admitted.

"It's my hope that yes, it can be done," Charles replied warmly. "I can certainly work with you to see what kind of progress can be had."

Scott nodded quickly. "Thanks," he breathed out, obviously relieved to hear it.

"Was there anything that either of  _you_ wanted to know?" Charles asked, turning his attention to K and Logan and clearly trying to read the way both ferals were watching him.

Logan paused and shook his head once, lightly, unsure on how exactly to bring up what he knew without tipping him off that he'd been through the place once already.

"This looks great," K said with a warm smile looking up at the ceiling for a moment as she took in the area around them. "But … Charles. Professor … I have to ask, what's the deal with the hidden hangar and the secret rooms? What are all the heavy wires and equipment for? You've got to be carrying a heavy electrical lode here. Industrial even. And I have to tell you - this isn't the first old money house that I've been in with outfitting like this. But you do seem like the nicest scholarI've ever met. But ...what  _else_ are you up to, professor?" She leveled her gaze at him, and Logan of course had already done the same - about halfway through her shifting tone of questioning.

When Charles froze for an instant, K's smile got considerably tighter and she started down the hall toward where Logan had said the hidden rooms were. "I can figure it out on my own if you're not ready to share."

"Wait," Charles said, looking almost tired at the prospect of her forcing her way into things. "Yes, there is a hidden hangar and I'd be more than happy to show it to you."

"And the other rooms?" Logan asked as K paused her backwards walk, watching them carefully.

"One of them is a training room - designed much like what the Avengers use … robots and various obstacles. To hone one's abilities." He let out a breath. "It's not ready to show anyone, and it's not operational yet."

"And the other?"

"Is my personal machine," Charles replied. "Nothing that anyone else would be able to utilize. At all."

"What's it for?" K asked. "Since you're the only one that can use it."

Charles looked as if he was more than a little irritated having to admit all of it, but after he let out a breath he gestured with one hand at the three of them. "I use it to find more mutants."

But that flat out got a deep, echoing growl from Logan, clearly misinterpreting what Charles was trying to say. "What happened to the ones you found already?" Logan asked.

" _Nothing,_ " Charles insisted before he glanced over at where K was still watching through narrowed eyes. "I've only just now started reaching out to them." Another glance K's way. "I wasn't willing to bring that up considering …"

"Considering that I don't work for those people anymore I think you're pretty safe. And by the way - you're welcome," K tacked on. "You could have been dead several years ago - multiple times. So stop stalling. Even if I'm not in their employ, I'm not known for my patience."

"Wait a minute," Scott said, turning K's way. "...what?"

"I've seen him around. Cocktail parties at embassies, awards ceremonies for the best and brightest. … places like that," K said. "I didn't put the name to the face though." She turned to Charles. "They really don't like you, Mr. Xavier. You were on my short list before I … left."

"And that was a few years ago, anyhow," Logan added, nodding to himself. "How have you managed to avoid being killed?"

Charles looked around at the three of them and let out a weary sigh. "Mostly by reading the minds of those around me." He gestured at the two of them. "The two of you, however are not easy to read or to track."

"I think he just said our brains are defective," K muttered Logan's way.

"No," Charles said, though it was clear he was either irritated or trying not to be amused. "Quite the opposite really. It's likely a side effect of your mutations."

"But that's… good, right?" Scott said, turning K's way. "If the Department doesn't like him."

"Well he's clearly not competition for them," K said. "Or there would be a lot of anguished, miserable scents in here. They were killing off anyone that might help with mutant rights, but that wasn't really my area most of the time."

"At any rate, he's not lyin'," Logan said before he turned to Charles. "If - and I mean  _if_ Scott decides to give this a shot, we'll be stickin' close by. The department has him in their sights, and I'm not gonna leave him unprotected."

"I can assure you, Scott would be perfectly safe here. But if you'd be more comfortable staying here, we do have the space," Charles said.

The two of them shared a look, and Logan glanced at Scott. "Do you want to stay?"

Scott paused for a moment before he nodded. "I want to figure this out," he said. "And I think with what we have to work with, this is my best shot."

Logan nodded at that. "I don't want to stay in the house," he said. "We'll figure something out."

"If you'd like to stay close - then the closest you can get without being in the house would be the boathouse," Charles offered, gesturing to the north. "It's hidden away, set on the lake and rather comfortable."

Logan bit his lip and thought it over for a long moment. "Only until Scott decides what he wants to do - and I get a chance to push your security. Consider it a trial run."

When Charles nodded, Scott had to add, "I'd like to see the boathouse too - so I know how to get there."

Charles' smile was warmer toward Scott as he nodded again. "Of course. I don't want to separate you from your parents," he agreed, which had Scott turning nearly the same shade as his glasses as he wordlessly nodded.

"Thanks," Scott said quietly, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck.

K looked slightly surprised for a moment, but when she got to where Scott was, she took a hold of his arm and then slipped under it to wrap her arm around his back and snuggle in on their way out, more or less turning it into a tight hug by the time they got to the elevator.

Scott still looked fairly embarrassed, though he wasn't complaining about the hug, either. He did however make sure she knew he wasn't trying to assume - "It just sort of… slipped out…"

"That's the best way. How you know it's from the heart," K said with a nod. "Love you too."


	7. First Student

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Xavier Institute Welcomes its very first student ... and his protective family.

The first day of class with Professor Xavier was like nothing that Scott had ever experienced. They started out not long after coffee, but as it turned out, Logan and K were in a habit of being up and about well before the Professor, and Scott had joined them for breakfast since … if he was being honest, even though he was glad to get to working on his abilities … he couldn't quite see what it was that the professor was going to  _do_ for him.

The little trio had gotten through their coffee when Charles reached out for Scott telepathically as Scott was raising his mug to his lips. It was an odd sensation for Scott, and for a moment he paused with the mug halfway to its mark. He didn't know how to respond, so he nodded to himself as he set the mug down and tried to think back as he'd done at Stark's hidden house.  _Okay. I'll just …_

He looked up at his pa- his dad and K and pushed back from the table. "I have a lesson to get to."

"Yeah, I gathered," Logan said, only then tipping Scott off that he had been watching him.

"Right." Scott's ears turned bright red for a moment as he got to his feet and with a last look to the two of them he headed down the hall. He didn't know how he  _knew_ he was going the right way. Or that he knew before he opened the door that it was the professor's classroom - not his office - that he was meeting him in.

"Good morning," Charles said brightly. He gestured to a high-backed, open seat. "Why don't we get started?"

Scott smirked to himself and took a seat, though he was a little put out by how little was happening. As he tried to get comfortable, Charles watched him with an almost unreadable smile, though his eyes were narrowed slightly.

It seemed, for all intents and purposes, that nothing was happening - outside of the obvious passage of time as Scott listened to the loud tick-tock of the tall grandfather clock on the wall. The relative silence seemed to stretch on for some time before Charles gave Scott a somewhat warmer smile. "Scott, I think that before we get started on your optic blasts, perhaps it would be best if I told you a bit about myself - at least, something that your parents haven't dug up on their own."

Scott nodded slowly. "Alright," he said, then paused, still feeling kind of guilty about the misunderstanding… "It's just Logan," he said suddenly. "K's not - they're together, but not… anything official."

"All the same, I'm rather interested in how you came to have such protective guardians. Neither of them would fall into the classic adoptive parent profiles- and that's before considering their employers."

Scott frowned at the phrasing for a moment and shook his head lightly. "The Department doesn't have anything to do with my family," he said. "Not if we can help it." When Charles frowned at Scott's tone, Scott took a deep breath and tried to explain himself a little better. "Logan found me. I think he took exception to someone … experimenting on me." He looked down at his clasped hands and let the statement hang in the air. He still didn't like to think about what had happened, even if it  _had_ been how he'd met his dad.

"I'm sure that you hold a totally different perspective than I do, but I've done some work myself for the military and even the CIA. It's a different type of personality that can do that type of work and sleep at night."

"My dad was in the military," Scott said with a frown. "My birth father was a pilot." He shook his head. "I guess you have some previous contact with K, but both of them have saved my life; I trust them." He let his shoulders drop. "I'm only here because I want to keep them safe, professor," he added softly.

Charles paused for a moment at that. "I'm afraid I don't understand then," he said. "I thought their commitment to the government was over. Unless they are still under contract, they shouldn't be in any danger. Or am I missing something key?"

Scott paused over his answer. He wasn't sure how much Logan and K would like revealed about their own pasts when it was clear that they weren't happy about what had been done to them. But on the other hand, he also couldn't stand to think that anyone would think they were tied up in the Department…

He took a deep breath. "No, they're not… they don't want to be part of that department," he said, trying to explain it. "But when I've got this big red beam telling the world where I am when I'm not wearing these…" He tapped his glasses with his index finger. "Well… it's hard to keep them from finding us. They already did once, and it…" He let out a breath. "It was not good."

"Perhaps you could explain it to me," Charles said. "Or, if you would permit it - you could show me."

Scott paused. "Show you?" he repeated. "I'm not sure how…"

Charles smiled softly at that and gestured to his own temple. "As you already know, I'm a telepath," Charles said. "With your permission, I could look into your memories. You could guide me, of course, once we were on the psychic plane."

When Charles saw the confused look on Scott's face, he quickly went into a reasonable explanation of what exactly that meant - that a person's mind exists on a plane separate from their own body - sure to outline how Scott could show him memories.

Scott quietly listened to everything Charles had to say before he at last nodded slowly. "Alright. I think, as long as I can show you - that might help, actually."

Charles nodded and again gave him a kind smile. "Perhaps it would be best if you took a seat at the couch. It can make people a bit dizzy their first time."

Scott nodded and headed over to the couch, still quiet and a little nervous before he leaned back and simply closed his eyes. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do to help…"

"Just try to relax, and it will be much easier once I can show you how it starts," Charles said before he very carefully started to slip into Scott's mind - though it was a bit harder than he'd expected to get going. He frowned to himself, sure that the boy was just nervous, but it wasn't long before he heard Scott next to him as he took in the mental landscape around him. "This is quite the psychic plane you have, Scott." He turned to him with a broader smile. "Is this where you consider home?"

Scott looked around at the mountains and soft blanket of snow and couldn't help but grin as he nodded. "Yeah, this is where I grew up," he said. "Haven't seen it since I was a kid." As a force of habit, Scott closed his eyes and frowned lightly, focusing on trying to remember what it smelled like where the mountains met the sea in Alaska. Dense spruce and freshly fallen snow - accentuated by an icy breeze that picked up in his mind's eye. "Huh."

Charles nodded at that. "The next part is up to you," Charles told him. "We could certainly stay here and you can reminisce about your childhood, or you can show me how it is that you got to where you are now."

Scott nodded as he looked around the mountainscape, frowning and holding his breath when he noticed the wispy curl of smoke on a far point in the mountains. He stared at the curl of smoke for a long moment, unsure exactly of what to do or where to go, but when he tore his gaze from the mountains and saw that there were some more shadowy areas further out, he figured that might be the right place to start. They had an almost reddish glow to them as they got closer to the caves where he and Alex used to go exploring - and Scott figured that lined up with his own red glow.

But when they got up to the caves, as soon as they stepped inside, they weren't in Alaska anymore - though they were certainly still underground. This was a much more artificial setup, the only lights those used for examination, and Scott quickly recognized it as the basement at the orphanage - complete with the crisp astringent scent that morphed quickly into something overly sweet and medicinal.

It was familiar - something straight out of his nightmares, but it wasn't quite the same setup as when Logan had come to help him. He looked toward the examination table and held his breath when he saw himself. Scott was younger, and he had his eyes screwed shut as a recognizable pale figure spoke in a cajoling voice, trying to prompt Scott into "showing his power" in a tone that instantly had Scott on edge and taking a step back.

"Can I assume that's not someone you'd like to see?" Charles asked. "Someone from the department, as you call it?"

Scott shook his head. "No," he said, taking another step back. "No, that's… no, this is before Logan found me. Can we just-" He turned to look for the exit. "Door…" he muttered to himself and threw open the first one he saw, half jogging onto the beach in Alaska in the summertime and only stopping when he could feel the sun warming his skin. He bent over, his hands on his knees as he stared at the sand underfoot trying to catch his breath and focus.

Charles didn't say a word, simply keeping up with Scott and watching his reactions as they went. There would be plenty of time to delve deeper into that ball of nightmares once they were  _out_ of the boy's mind. But Charles couldn't help but ask. "How long were you … wherever that was?"

"A few years," Scott said quietly, shaking his head. "After my parents died - before Logan got me out."

"And I'm to assume that Logan didn't come looking specifically for you?"

Scott paused and turned Charles' way. "No," he said slowly. "He was looking into that doctor - and found me."

Charles nodded. "Forgive me, I'm still having trouble seeing how it all ties together."

"That's what I  _meant_ to show you," Scott said, taking a moment to look around, though it was another little while before he spotted the area of forest much like the one where he and Logan had been neighbors with K. "I  _think_ this is it," he said, almost relieved when it was, in fact, the little cabin where the Department had managed to get the drop on him. The scene started out simply enough as the light went down in the forest - and then the ambient sounds went silent as Charles saw for himself Scott's recollection of what had happened, from his own capture to the department's method to capture an already surrendering Logan, then Scott annihilating a large chunk of the forest and soldiers to finally, K finishing the job and rescuing both of them.

Charles was frowning to himself as he watched the scene unfold, more and more quiet as it went on. "Then what happened?"

"We ran," Scott said quietly. "And tried to hide, but I mean… you saw what happens when I let loose. It's not easy to hide."

"No," Charles agreed. "I can see that hiding isn't an easy option with what you can do."

"But if you can help me - show me how to turn it off," Scott said, starting to pick up steam a bit away from the memory, "they won't find us."

Charles nodded at that. "My concern, Scott, is that frankly, this is the first I've seen any proof of any misdeeds on an official level. There have been rumors, of course … but … if this is a government backed program, it will be much harder for anyone to evade."

Scott shook his head at that. "No, we can do it. We have to - I mean, you've seen what happens if we don't."

Charles gave him a little smile. "Then perhaps we should move this to somewhere that you can let loose and try to work toward control."

Scott nodded his quick agreement. "Great. Thank you," he said - and with a little coaching, he found himself back in Charles' classroom instead of in Alaska.

"How do you feel?" Charles asked.

"Alright," Scott said, tipping his head to the side as he considered it. "Am I supposed to feel any different?"

"Not necessarily, but as I said, some people find themselves to be a bit off kilter after their first session into the psychic plane." He gave him a tight sort of smile as he gestured to the door. "There is a target range in the basement. You can work there safely."

"Thanks," Scott said as he got to his feet. He paused and seemed to consider something. "Was it like this for you?" he asked suddenly. "When you had your powers - Logan and K don't have to turn theirs on or off but you would, right?"

"For me, it was a bit different," Charles admitted. "I could hear people's thoughts. Only it took me quite some time to realize that's what was happening. I've taken years to learn to block them out, and I can tell you that 'on' is very likely the struggle most young mutants have when they first manifest. You'll learn to control them. But it will take some time to do so."

Scott nodded thoughtfully. "Hopefully not years," he muttered.

Charles let out a hollow sort of a chuckle. "It's my hope that if I can guide you, it would be considerably less time than that. At least you won't be fighting through on your own."

"That's true," Scott agreed, nodding almost without realizing it as he followed Charles to where the range was.

"As you can see," Charles said once they got to the range properly. "The tunnels beneath the school reach far out into the estate. They make perfect shooting lanes, and in the event that something were to go wrong, you'd only hit the tunnels."

Scott couldn't help but smile when he saw the setup. Charles was right - there was plenty of space to work with, and no one would be able to see the bright red beacon he poured out every time he took his glasses off.

He glanced over his shoulder at Charles for a moment before he took a breath and removed the glasses, sure to face as straight-on to the target as he could before he opened his eyes again… and knocked himself nearly prone like he'd done in South Carolina.

 _It's alright Scott,_  Charles' voice echoed in his head.  _Try to relax. And focus. Don't worry about anything but your focus._

"Focus on what - not falling over?" Scott asked as he climbed to his feet, putting the glasses back on before he dared to look over at Charles. "It's not something I'm focusing on doing - it just happens."

"I understand that. But you should try to focus on the intensity of the beam. Don't try to simply shut it off. Try to turn it down."

Scott frowned at that for a moment before he nodded and seemed to set his shoulders - though he couldn't hide the frustrated sort of sound when he ended up flat on his back once again. "I think that was worse," he muttered, rubbing his eyes while they were still closed. It hurt just behind his eyes to let it out like that.

"You're doing well," Charles said. "Especially considering that you can't possibly have used your abilities much in the time that you've had them."

"Only a few times, yeah," Scott admitted as he got back to his feet. "And I usually had to be stressed to do it. Now this - this happens whether I'm in danger or high-stress or not."

"That might be a result of your abilities strengthening - whether you're ready for them or not." Charles took a moment to consider it. "Have you been able to do the usual routines with your father that were helping you to relax?"

Scott blinked at Charles for a moment before he slowly shook his head. "Not since the department showed up," he said slowly. "Not really."

He tipped his head forward and gestured openly. "Scott - if it helps, by all means - you're all welcome to do what it is that helps you."

"I hadn't even considered it," Scott admitted. "I mean, I didn't want to get in the wa- well." He caught himself. "There's been a lot going on."

"Scott," Charles said with as close to a chiding tone as Scott had heard yet. "How would that interrupt anything when you know your adoptive father is going out of his way to make sure that above everything … you are safe?" He shook his head. "I didn't even realize that your father had gotten as deeply into the school as he had until they made it so plainly clear at the tour."

Scott almost smirked at that, though he brought a hand to the back of his neck self-consciously without even realizing it. "Well, you saw… we had to make sure that you weren't running an experiment," he said with one eye closed, though Charles couldn't see it behind the glasses.

"I still think I may need to speak to them," Charles said. "To know the extent that this agency will go to find any one of you."

"Maybe you should," Scott said. "I mean, you seem to have things laid out the way you want them here and I don't think - I wouldn't want them to show up  _here_."

"Mr. Summers," Charles said, almost with a laugh. "If anything were to happen here, I do believe I'd welcome the redecorating. This house has been stagnant for far too long - and I have my own ghosts that I wouldn't mind evicting."

"Huh," Scott said with a small frown before he nodded and went back to looking downrange - though it was only another two or three tries before he was completely spent anyway, and he had to head up to end the short training run.

When Scott returned to the main floor, Logan and K were outside, and again, Logan was smoking as the two of them looked as though they were simply staring out at the forest's treeline as it loomed over the pristine lawn. Though Scott knew better.

"There's a shooting range underground," he said as he came to sit by K.

"Yeah?" Logan said as he turned toward him. "How'd you do?"

"If I don't have bruises on my back when I wake up in the morning, I'll be surprised," Scott admitted. "But it's nice to have a place to practice that won't give me away."

"More than Stark could offer," K almost sang out under her breath. "Shooting range and  _privacy_?"

"So what's your thoughts?" Logan asked before he took a long drag on the cigarette. "Like it?"

Scott stopped to consider his answer before he nodded. "Yeah. It's nice to have something to do that at least feels like moving forward," he said. "But … I don't know. It's just the first day, and I can't exactly make a judgement call on one day of falling over."

"Yeah, we're not going anywhere," Logan said, shaking his head. "At least, not until you're sure one way or the other. I want you to take your time."

"And then if it makes it easier on you, we'll get out of your way. Give you your privacy," K added.

Scott frowned at that answer but shook his head and decided to approach that when the time came. "I wanted to ask you something, actually," he said, turning to Logan. "About the Home for Foundlings."

Logan nodded and settled in to hear what was going on. "Shoot," he said as he crossed his arms and leaned back.

"I was wondering if you knew what that guy was doing or… how often, I guess," Scott said, going back to rubbing the back of his neck.

Logan stared at him openly for a moment and gently shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "I was only in town for a little bit. I recognized his scent and went after it. After that … when I saw how he had you restrained and the layout he had you in, I snapped." He let out a breath. "All I know for sure is that you were in pain and he wasn't done with you."

Scott nodded, and it was clear to both ferals that he wasn't all that comfortable with the topic, but curiosity was overriding everything else. "It's just that the professor and I - when I was talking with him, in my head, I guess… I don't remember what I saw, or I didn't until we were there watching it… but it was that creep again."

Both Logan and K were frowning at the fact that Xavier had been poking around in Scott's head, but the questions Scott was after was something that Logan was sure would come out with time anyhow. "Pretty sure I killed him," Logan said.

"I know," Scott said. "I just didn't remember it, that's all. And I wasn't sure if you knew if he'd been doing… whatever…"

"Scotty, you were strapped down," Logan said. "He hadn't cut in yet, but the instruments were all there. I've seen it enough to know what was comin' and the whole place down there smelled like you - and blood. It was a recurring thing."

Scott took a deep breath and closed his eyes before he nodded. "I just remember the time you came," he said in the breath he let out.

"Probably better that way," K said. "Remembering isn't all it's cracked up to be. At least for things like that."

"Yeah," Scott said, leaning his head back against the tree he was leaned against. "I was trying to tell him - he doesn't exactly trust you, and I  _wanted_ to show him what the department did when they came after us. Show him why I want to get this under control. I guess I just wasn't expecting to find something else."

Logan nodded his head at that. "If he's got questions about us, send him to us. No reason for you to have to explain for both of us. Or all three, for that matter."

"Just trying to help," Scott said with a shrug.

"I'm sure it made perfect sense," K said, giving him an encouraging little smile. "Probably still does. The guy wants to know how you got from A to B. Part of that is your story too. Even if you're not the only one in it."

"That was sort of the point," Scott admitted.

"Yeah, figured that was gonna happen," Logan said. "So what's he missing to complete the picture?"

"It seemed like - well, going in, I don't think he believed you weren't working for them," Scott said. "Now? It's more like… he wants to know what kind of threat level we're looking at."

"That's a step toward reality anyhow," Logan said dryly.

"You have to understand, Scott," K said as she got up and stretched. "The official line from the Department is that anyone in it has  _volunteered_ to be there."

Scott pulled a face at that. "Yeah, well, seeing what they did to Logan, I don't see how the professor can think that anymore, so…" He shrugged. "That solves that part, at least."

"Maybe," Logan said. "So what's next? Same thing over and over?"

"He means did you  _like_ the way your day went so far," K said.

"I think so," Scott admitted. "Outside of an unwanted glimpse at stuff I'd rather forget - besides the falling flat, it's actually nice to let loose." He tapped his glasses. "I just get a headache when I'm out, though."

Both of them smirked at that. "Maybe it'll ease up the more you let loose," Logan said.

"That would be nice," Scott agreed. "Or maybe it'll be easier if I'm not, you know, blasting full-bore."

"Are you adjusting the power level?" K asked interestedly. "That sounds fun."

"Well, I'm trying to anyway," Scott admitted. "Right now, it's just a lot of trying to focus and then getting blasted off my feet, but that  _is_ the plan."

"So let's work on bracing yourself better," Logan suggested. "Least that way you wont end up flat."

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me." Scott turned to Logan, this time with a little more of a grin. "Do you think we could go back to what we were doing before? Spend the mornings working together?"

"You mean the meditation? Sure," Logan said with a little nod. "Just say when."

"Great." Scott grinned at both of them, much more relaxed as he let his hands rest behind his head. "Let's do that tomorrow, then."

"First thing?" Logan asked before he pulled K over to him and made her sit back down with him.

"Yeah, you guys get up before the professor, so there would be time - unless you had other plans," Scott added quickly, looking between the two of them with half a smirk.

"Nope," Logan said, shaking his head. "Nothing planned that can't wait until after."

"Thanks," Scott said. "The professor thinks it might help if I relaxed more."

"Then we need to find you a pretty girl," K decided, smirking at Scott just to see his ears turn red. "Because you were pretty relaxed with sweet little Far-rah."

Scott shook his head even as his ears were burning. "That's not - no-" he spluttered.

"You should have seen them," K said, turning slightly just before Logan stole a kiss. "They were adorable in the cafe every day." Logan smirked and K grinned wider at him before she turned back to Scott. "I think it'd be  _precious_. You can have a reputation … breaking hearts from one coast to the other … and everywhere in between."

"I don't want - no," Scott said, turning even redder.

"Kissing bandit … caramel kisses from sea to shining sea …"

"Please stop," Scott said, dragging his hand over his face. "That's just not even remotely - just no."

"It' is. You know it could be anyhow."

"You're making things up," Scott said.

"Sorry, not sorry," she said. "You're cute enough to pull it off, and nice enough for all of them to know it's not malicious."

He shook his head at her. "I don't want or need that kind of reputation," he said in a sigh. "Come on."

"She's teasing," Logan said as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer so she was nestled in much better. "Don't let her get to you. You already know how she is."

Scott couldn't help but smile at that. "Yeah. I know. Just gotta make sure the truth gets heard every once in a while too."

"You love it," K defended. "Both of you."

Scott didn't say anything but to smirk at that. "So, what about you two? See or do anything noteworthy?"

"Just been runnin' the perimeter - checking out the nearest towns, nothing too earth shattering," Logan said. "Have to see what this place is about. Bit by bit."

"And I've been exploring … looking through the old family photo albums and whatnot," K said.

"You'd tell me if you found something, right?" Scott said, shooting Logan a  _look_. "Because last time…"

"I'll tell you if I find anything," Logan promised, looking almost tired at the thought. "I don't want it to go down that way either."

Scott nodded for a moment and then paused. "I'd want to come with you… I guess, if I have this under control enough not to blow our cover," he said, adding the last part more quietly.

"I'd want you to go either way," Logan said. "Unless you got comfortable and didn't  _want_ to."

"No, I do, I just don't want to get you caught," Scott said quickly.

"I've been caught before," Logan said with a wave. "Rarely have they gotten me all the way to a facility."

"That's true," K said, pointing a finger at Logan. "They hate the transport of this one more than the capture."

"Then maybe when we're doing our morning routine you could show me some of that too," Scott offered. "I want to be able to keep up."

"Some of what?" K asked.

"How to get out of that kind of situation… maybe some, I don't know - we were learning some martial arts before but we could adapt it?" Scott said.

"That'd be a good spot to start up," Logan said. "But the rest of it's a matter of figuring out how to fight your way out."

"And basic science that you've probably already figured out," K added. "Using things as levers - or other simple tools, even if they aren't meant to be."

"Do you want to help?" Scott asked with a small sort of half smile her way.

"Do you  _want_ me to help?" K asked.

"Well, yeah, it's not like it's just me and Logan anymore, right?" Scott pointed out.

"Yes, but I think the most amazing thing I've taught you is how to make a decent latte," K said. "That's a far cry from whatever you're getting from your Dad."

"Try me," Scott offered. "If it doesn't work out, I'm still learning from Dad, but you can take down the department - I've seen you do it. I'm sure you could help."

"I can try," she said, shrugging. "But that only really worked because you two were such irresistible distractions."

"Hey, if nothing else, we can practice that. I'll be a very bright light and you guys take them down," Scott offered with a smirk. "It's a solid plan, right?"

"Only as long as they don't know she's involved," Logan said. "And let's be realistic here. Chances are good they'll be pulling in Creed if they're serious about bringing any - or all of us - in."

Scott paused for a second before he allowed a small smirk to cross his face. "Then I guess it's good I'm practicing my aim."

"Oh, I love how this kid thinks," K said, smiling his way. "Can you aim enough to get him hit by a semi? Somehow?"

"I… don't see how, but considering how far he flew last time, it probably felt like getting hit by a semi," Scott said, the smirk growing a little wider.

"She just wants to see him splattered," Logan said. "Not that I'd complain."

"Yeah, well, I'm fine with just sending him the length of a football field and getting him away from us," Scott said with a shrug.

"So thoughtful," K said. "So … are you done for the day? Did you want to do something with your Dad?"

"What if we just grab something to eat together?" Scott asked. "You don't have to go anywhere, really."

"Sure," she said after she stole a quick kiss from Logan. "If that's what you want to do … I'll make lunch while you boys … be boys."


	8. Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott is back in school - but he's not the only one!

While Logan and Scott were discussing matters outside, K was prepping lunch for the little group, quietly humming to herself as she worked. She hadn't been at it for very long, however, before Charles came in to join her - clearly wary of how to approach her.

She smirked to herself at his hesitance and continued on as if she hadn't noticed him there. For as long as her pride would let her anyhow. "It's a lot easier for me to answer your questions if you ask them," K said, though she didn't turn to face him or pick her head up.

Charles shook his head at that. "I'm at a bit of a loss as to how you the three of you became involved," Charles said. "I understand how the two of them managed to work together - and how they came to be a unit. I don't see how …"

"You can admit you're a little nervous," K said before she poured herself a cup of coffee and then made her way over to a seat to wait for the pasta to boil. "Please keep in mind, I didn't really want to kill anyone. But … desperate times."

Charles didn't seem to have a response to that more than to simply watch her with a frown. He wasn't sure if she was referencing the handful of times he'd seen her while she was apparently working or if she meant how she managed to become a part of Scott's travelling family.

K didn't interrupt his thoughts for a long moment, but when it was clear he hadn't decided on where to start, she lifted her mug and met his gaze. "I am going to caution you, Professor. I know you're traipsing around in Scott's head. Take care with what you do while you're in there."

"I'm not in the practice of -"

"I know telepaths. And I know that most of them have as much control over their impulses as a toddler," K said, cutting him off. "Prove me wrong." She held his gaze for a long moment - clearly challenging him on it, but before Charles could respond properly, the door nearest the kitchen opened for Scott and Logan to file in, still chatting - and Scott was in high spirits already since they'd decided to do a little self defense while they had time alone.

K got to her feet and made her way back to the stove with a little sway in her step, though she simply gave the two incoming men with a little smile before she shooed them out to where Charles was still staring after her.

Logan didn't give Charles much in the way of attention - not until he spoke directly to him anyhow. "Scott and I had a fairly eventful morning," Charles said as he joined the two of them.

"Eventful as in you did a lot of head-shrinkin'?" Logan asked, which got a weary sort of sigh from Charles.

"No, eventful as in I think that we may be able to make some solid forward motion on control … provided I'm right on a few things."

"Like what?" Logan asked, frowning at him.

"Well before I can say for sure, I'd like very much to ask if perhaps …  _you_ could show me your memory of the Home for Foundlings."

"My mind ain't the most friendly of places, Chuck," Logan said, already watching him through narrowed eyes.

"Lots of people think that," Charles said. "But it would help me see if some of what I saw in Scott's memories is implanted or suggested."

"You think someone else screwed with his head."

"I do," Charles said with a nod.

Logan turned toward Scott with a little frown as he thought it over. "Okay. Let's do it." He slapped both hands on his thighs and turned back to Charles. "Whatever you need to help him out."

"Wait… what?" Scott frowned, looking between the two of them.

"You need help - you got it," Logan said. "Doubt I'll be of much use, but if he thinks it's worth a shot - might as well get on with it."

"I think it would at least confirm that it was as dark as it seemed in Scott's memory," Charles said.

"You wanna do this thing or not?" Logan asked with a scowl Charles' way. "Might want to get on with it before I change my mind."

It was clear Logan wasn't entirely okay with the idea of it, but Charles knew a limited time offer when he saw it. "Yes, of course," Charles said before he gestured for Logan to follow him down to his office.

Logan got to his feet and didn't bother even trying to fake a smile as he followed Charles, though when they passed the kitchen where K was leaning in the doorway, Charles paused at the look on K's face and Logan stole a kiss, and when they continued on - that only left Scott and K alone and waiting.

And she didn't look very amused in the least. "You said you were a little hungry, right?" K said, turning toward Scott. "I have some pasta whipped up. I'll keep the rest warm for Logan. No telling how long this will take."

Scott frowned when he saw the way that K was tensed, though she tried to keep her temper in check as she took a seat with a cup of coffee and waited. Scott paused and went to grab some food before he sat down. As he watched her, he realized that for her, there really wasn't much to do if Logan was overly occupied and in spite of himself, Scott had to hide the smirk. It stood to reason that if she didn't really  _like_ him, she probably wouldn't bother waiting around for him.

As he ate quietly, K was clearly listening for trouble. Her head was turned slightly in a way that he'd never seen her do, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out she was keeping one ear toward the hall.

"The professor doesn't really trust you very much either," Scott said quietly, which at least got K to turn his way, if only for a moment.

"He's afraid I might kill him," K said. "Which is a good fear for him to have, as far as I'm concerned." She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes as she glared down the hall.

Scott tipped his head to the side as he watched her. He'd never seen her react like this to anyone before. He'd actually never really seen her react negatively to anyone outside of Creed and the handful of Shield agents that were holding her at gunpoint - and even that seemed … more like she wasn't happy about the situation. Not the person themselves. It had him wondering what was wrong with the professor.

"Did he do something that you haven't told me or Logan about?" Scott asked curiously. "You're the only one that's crossed paths with him before …"

She turned his way and let out an almost irritated huff. "No. No, he sounds like a decent person, I just … can't stand telepaths."

"Like you can't stand Canadians?" Scott teased, the corner of his mouth quirking up slightly.

K gave him a dry look for that. "I love picking on Canadians for being Canadian. Admit it. Even your Dad is too nice to argue with me on most of it."

"He'd argue if it was someone else," Scott replied.

"Right," she said, shaking her head. "No. It's not like that."

"Then what is it?"

K let out a sigh and her focus again seemed to drift down the hall. "When the Department had me, that was one of the best ways they controlled me. With telepaths." She turned back to Scott. "They got into my head and rearranged what they wanted. Made me think that I was somewhere safe when I wasn't - or somewhere terrifying when I was safe." K shook her head. "They don't need to be physically strong if they can turn your brain off or bend your will. Shift alliances, remove your ethics or wipe memories."

Scott thought about it for a long while. He didn't say what was at the front of his mind, which was that what she was describing sounded a lot like how he didn't remember what Logan had said was on ongoing thing with that creep in the basement at the orphanage… But he really wanted to lighten her mood a little, since it was obvious she was stressed. "Is there anyone else you can't stand?" he asked with a smirk. "Canadians … telepaths…."

"I said I like Canadians. Obviously. Just … telepaths. And … shapeshifters."

"Well, I guess if the professor starts shapeshifting, it's completely untenable. No hope of recovering from  _that_ ," Scott said with a small smile. "Not in combination."

"Oh, you're in high spirits, I see," she said, finally breaking her scowl to give him a little smile. "Carry on Sassy Caramel. Carry on."

* * *

And meanwhile, the professor was trying to get his bearings. He'd expected a similar landscape to what he'd seen with Scott since the two of them were at least tied together in their love for he northwoods, but what he saw when he looked around Logan's mindscape appeared almost alien.

The ground he walked on was uneven and moved rhythmically, and he was completely lost on where to even start until he saw what looked like a massive hand, and with a start, Charles looked down and around him with fresh eyes, horrified when he realized that he was standing  _on_ Logan.

While the woods were in the background of Scott's mind - the torture that Weapon X had put Logan through was always in the background of his mind on a constant loop and h didn't need to look far at all to see the kinds of torture Logan had been subject to. The way the doctors talked about him - a number not a name - made it hard to believe that he was there willingly. The long list of drugs that they were pumping him full of was staggering. And Charles had to take a step back as he realized what  _exactly_ they were doing to Logan.

As the adamantium infusion started, the entire landscape of Logan's mind seemed to get sharper and more sensitive - painful, and Charles honestly couldn't stay in Logan's consciousness for long before he had to retreat, almost gasping when he broke the connection.

"Find what you were lookin' for?" Logan asked as Charles stared at him.

"No … I … perhaps you could simply tell me more about this person that was using Scott."

Logan shook his head at that. "His scent was familiar. I don't  _remember_ him." Logan frowned deeply, catching Charles' notice. "And whenever I try to remember what's not there -"

"It hurts," Charles said, almost as if he was just then realizing it.

Logan looked up and met his gaze as he nodded. "Yeah. Stupid, I know."

"No, not at all. It's your mind's way to protect itself." He looked thoughtful. "Perhaps we can give it another try, but you can guide me instead of allowing me to simply go hunting."

Logan let out a breath and nodded once before Charles prepared himself to try again, and this time, with Logan joining him, they made more progress.

Like before, the 'landscape' was still Logan himself as he drifted in a genesis tank, but Logan didn't seem surprised by it in the least, and instead of dwelling on it, he simply turned to Charles and gestured for them to get moving. The landscape shifted fast - and Charles could almost feel Logan working to make his thoughts and mind more ordered as he concentrated on finding the memory of when he'd gotten Scott.

The rough start transitioned to something far more simple as a long hallway with doors lining both sides seemed to take the place of their initial peek into Logan's mind.

But even with that much changed, Charles was still staggered by how much damage there was. He didn't mention to Logan how bad it was, or how stunning it was that he was able to walk, talk, and reason - let alone strategize and do all that he did.

It took a little time, and Charles made note of how many gaps there were in Logan's memory - and how vast some of the sections were, not to mention the large number of memories that were so clearly tampered with. Scott was right, of course. There is no way anyone would volunteer to allow someone to do this to them.

The memory of finding Scott from top to bottom of that day was an eye opener for Charles from how he stumbled upon the doctor's scent - to his line of thinking to follow it, Charles found himself pleasantly surprised and when they were done with their impromptu session, Charles had to simply sit back and take it in.

"You done now?" Logan asked dryly, though Charles couldn't help but blink at him with a perfectly open expression on his face.

"I suppose that's up to you," Charles said. "The level of fear and panic when you caught that scent … any sane person would have gone the other way."

"Not real smart callin' me crazy, Charlie."

"No, that's not at all what I meant. " Charles took a deep breath and reordered his thoughts. "I meant that you were willing to take a risk in spite of your gut reaction to discover what this person was. I may be able to help with that."

"I thought the point of this was to help Scott get control of his lasers."

"It is," Charles said. "But that doesn't mean I can't help you to retrieve your memories."

Logan thought it over for a long moment and shook his head. "Kid's got priority. I can figure the rest out myself."

Charles started to argue the point, but he could see that unless it was necessary, Logan wasn't going to even consider it for now. "Another time then."

"We'll see," Logan said in a drawl before the two of them headed back to where Scott was waiting expectantly and K was tensed and glaring. "It's fine," he almost whispered to K as he took the seat next to her, though she didn't exactly look convinced.

"Scott," Charles said. "Perhaps we could pick this up tomorrow. Take some time with your family."

Scott nodded, a pink hue to his cheeks. "Yeah. Okay," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Charles left with a tight smile, but he looked worn around the edges as he went and Logan waited for just a moment before he turned to Scott. "Let me know if you decide you don't like what he's sellin'."

Scott nodded. "It's too soon to tell," he admitted. "I mean… so far, all we've done is just… talk."

He nodded in agreement. "Guy had free rein to look where he wanted and ended up needin' a guide. Showed him more than he thought though."

"You okay?" Scott asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Me? Fine," Logan said in a low rumble. "I'm used to telepaths stomin' around in there without permission."

Scott frowned at that but nodded all the same. "Well, I won't show him anything you don't want me to," he said at last.

"Show him whatever you want," Logan said. "He saw the big show already. Nothin' I'm hidin' anyhow."

"Alright," Scott said, then straightened up a bit and bumped K's shoulder. "So… pasta's waiting for you. Maybe we'll grab something for dessert while you're eating and not talk about telepaths and the department for a while, huh?"

"Your subtle needs so much polish, Caramel Mocha."

"I can be subtle when I want to be," Scott defended, though he was bright red.

"And now is not one of those times, is it," she said before she darted forward to kiss his cheek. "But sure. Sounds like a solid plan."

* * *

The next day, and the day after that, and several beyond proved to be more of the same kind of schedule. Charles and Scott would work together on his control or his memories, depending on what Scott felt more like on any given morning after his martial arts regimen with Logan.

At first, Scott tried to steer away from going back into his mind, not because he wasn't curious - he was - but because he could see how nervous it made Logan and K, and he was trying to be cautious, too. But a few mornings of blasting himself back and not feelings like he was making a dent in his control finally had him thinking it was time to try going back to the mindscape again.

"If you're ready, I think that I have a new target system," Charles said, obviously trying to keep out of the minds of those around him when so many were suspicious of him.

Scott bit his lip, frowned, and shook his head lightly. "I think… if I'm going to make any progress, I want to try and look at the manipulations you were talking about with my dad," he said slowly.

Charles nodded. "Did you want to try to talk through it, or …"

"I could try that," Scott said, one eye closed in a wince. "I'm not very good at it." He held his breath. "It really was easier to show you. So maybe we could go back and just… try to stick to one path this time, I guess."

Charles watched him for a moment with a little smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You're not avoiding it like your … ah. Your K."

"K doesn't have the control issues I do," Scott said.

"No, but I'm sure she cautioned you all the same."

Scott didn't see any point in denying it as he nodded. "Yeah, but the way I see it, the whole reason I came here is to get my powers under control, and being cautious only gets me part of the way there, so…"

"I'm not going to deny you that, Scott. I find that to be the most direct route more often than not," Charles said. "I just thought it wise to make sure you weren't crossing any lines they'd set in place for you before we start."

Scott frowned at that and shook his head lightly. "They're my powers - my dad already said that makes it my decision."

Charles smirked a little wider. "Then whenever you're ready, we can begin." The two of them made their way down to Charles' office and once again, Scott took a few moments to get comfortable before they started, though at least this time, he was a little more prepared for the shift in setting.

"Is there anything you'd like to explore to get started?" Charles asked. "Before we go to what seems to be a troublesome area."

Scott was already shaking his head before Charles had finished asking the question. "I want to get this figured out sooner than later," he said. "Let's just… let's just get moving," he added, already glancing toward the mountains where there had been that red-glowing memory last time.

"Then lead the way," Charles said.

Scott nodded again, this time heading straight for where that memory from the Home for Foundlings had cropped up before, and when they stepped from the caves into the basement, Scott simply had his jaw locked as he glanced toward Charles. "This… I didn't remember this," he explained without really looking toward the memory itself. "I only remember when Logan showed up. So I'm not sure where to find things I don't remember beyond starting… here, I guess."

Charles nodded and he stepped forward to try and help manipulate the scene. "False memories have edges to them that are easier to spot. If it was natural, it would fade into the rest of your mind, but here -" he gestured to the dark spots and now that he looked, jagged edges. "Is a clear mark of someone trying to hide something." He turned toward Scott. "Are you sure you haven't encountered a telepath before?"

Scott frowned at that and shook his head. "I think so."

Charles concentrated and waved Scott closer. "I think if we both work at it, we can get past this to the hidden  _true_ memory."

Scott seemed to take a moment to brace himself before he nodded. "Alright. What do you need me to do?" he asked.

"Try to push at this wall with me, Scott. I'll keep the memories surrounding it in place."

Scott raised an eyebrow at that but didn't argue, sure that Charles knew what he was doing, so he crossed the room to press both hands against the wall - and to his surprise, it started to move, almost like a hidden panel in the wall, sliding backward until there was enough space for them to walk through it.

He glanced back at Charles again before he figured he'd go first - not sure what he'd find but sure he wanted to see it before someone else - and quietly slipped inside to find that the scenery hadn't changed much, though Scott himself had. He was about twelve, give or take, and clearly having a bad headache if the fact that he had his heels pressed into his hands was any indication. Scott couldn't see the glasses anywhere, so he couldn't have been thirteen yet, since that was when he'd started wearing them.

The other man in the room wasn't the red-eyed creep from before, though - but Dr. Pearson, with one hand on Scott's shoulder as the other prised his hands away from his eyes. "I can't help you if you don't let me see," he was saying in a patient tone.

"Who is he to you, Scott?" Charles asked, though he was frowning openly at the image of Dr. Pearson.

Scott held his breath before he answered, watching his younger self trying to deal with the headache and the nosy doctor. "He ran the Home for Foundlings," he explained.

"I see," Charles said in a thoughtful tone. "I've seen this man in Logan's memory too. This is what he looked like when Logan started tracking him."

Scott nodded. "Logan said …" He let out a breath. "I had this friend there. Nate. He said Nate was the same guy as the one in the basement. So…" He nodded to himself. "Anyway. I guess we just need to find more with those three - or, one guy - in them."

"I wish I could say that it's not possible, but there are mutants with extraordinary abilities," Charles said. "And if Logan said that the scent matches … I'm afraid that scent is the most powerful memory recall device. It's very rarely wrong."

Scott nodded, stepping back from the memory to push through into the next one without another word. Now that he knew how to do that, he just wanted to go forward, really. Get it fixed, whatever this guy had done.

Though he stopped outright when the memory they stepped into … was one that showed him at about age fourteen, clearly upset and scared - and covering his eyes with a trail of obvious destruction tearing his bathroom sink in half.

It was obvious enough what had happened, since Scott had experienced the weird optic blasts at random intervals before, but he  _definitely_ didn't remember this. He'd thought that the first time he saw the optic blasts was when he'd accidentally hit Logan with them.

"That's not right," he said without thinking about it.

"What's not?" Charles asked, watching Scott more than the scene around them.

"The first time that happened was with my dad, in the forest, we were camping," Scott said. "That…" He frowned as he heard the door to his room unlatch and a smug-looking Dr. Pearson came in to see the damage. "I don't remember any of this."

"It's a genuine memory," Charles said, frowning as he looked again to see if something else was in play. "Why would someone try to repress this?" He turned toward Scott. "I don't believe this is your work."

Scott gestured openly. "I really wouldn't know," he said. "This is your area of expertise, professor. I'm just as confused as you are."

"We can stop if you'd like," Charles said.

"No way," Scott said, shaking his head. "I want to know what's going on - and I want to make sure if it's messing with my powers or my head or  _anything_ … no." He shook his head again, tipping his head to where Pearson was leading his younger self away. "Come on," he said, striding after the two of them quickly, even if he could already see that Pearson was leading him downstairs.

"There's no need to rush in," Charles said, rushing to catch up. "We have time."

"I'm not going to be able to stop thinking about it anyway," Scott pointed out as he slipped down the stairs after his memory. "Wouldn't you want to know? If it was you?"

"Yes, I would," Charles agreed. "But you need to process what you're unearthing as well."

"I'll process later when we've got a whole memory  _to_ process," he said. "Right now, what am I gonna do? Sit and worry about what else he did? No way."

"I'm only trying to advocate caution," Charles said, though he was still keeping up with him. "Of course, keep going for now, but if you show signs of too much distress, I will end the session."

Scott frowned over his shoulder at Charles, then shook his head lightly but didn't say anything as they got down to where the familiar laboratory setup was. Pearson looked positively thrilled as he looked Scott over, forcibly pulling his hands away from his eyes and looking even more delighted at the still-red slight glow there, even if it was faint.

"It's still unconscious," Pearson mused, mostly to himself. He hadn't let go of Scott's wrists and seemed to be thinking it over. "And unpredictable. We'll have to work on that."

The young Scott in the memory frowned and tried to pull his hands back, but he was well and truly stuck. "What are you talking about?"

Pearson ignored Scott entirely, though he did finally release his hands as he took a step back, clearly thinking it over. "No," he said at last, shaking his head to himself. "Not yet. Perhaps when the bursts are more steady, more predictable. Right now, there is no use in conscious attempts when there's no clear pattern or stimulus." With that, he simply took a step forward and put his hands on either side of Scott's head at the temples, and after a brief moment, Pearson's eyes glowed red and the younger Scott had simply and suddenly relaxed, going limp so that Pearson could lay him flat and start to examine him more closely.

As the memory started to fade - Scott couldn't remember the rest of what had happened when he wasn't fully conscious for it - Charles looked toward Scott, who had unconsciously moved back and away from the examination table.

That was all Charles needed to see - and an instant later, he ended the search and Scott blinked hard to find himself simply sitting on the sofa in Charles' office.

"What - no!" He started to get to his feet and then sat back down when he felt dizzy.

"Scott we can delve deeper, but you need to process this first," Charles said, looking entirely concerned. "You've been pushing hard to get this far."

"So why stop?" Scott argued. "We only got through a little, but the way he was talking - there's got to be more."

"I'm sure that there is," Charles said. "I'm not sure that you're ready to see it though."

Scott shook his head. "No, I - you can't pull me out just for getting a little freaked out."

"You were well beyond a little freaked out," Charles argued.

"Well, yeah, but wouldn't you be if - I mean, it's not -" Scott let out a frustrated breath. "I want to know what he was doing. All I saw was… I didn't know I'd used my powers before but that didn't tell me what he was  _doing_."

Charles let out a long breath. "Without getting into  _his_ head, I'm not entirely sure that I could pinpoint what precisely he was doing outside of wiping your memory of the incident."

Scott frowned and shook his head. "That's…" He let out a frustrated sound before he simply pushed both hands through his hair.

"If you like, it might be safer if I took a more comprehensive look for telepathic blocks," Charles said. "Before we return to breaking into more hidden memories."

"Telepathic blocks… like… is that what he was doing?" Scott asked, looking back up.

"Very likely," Charles said. "I didn't think that someone could be both a telepath and a shapeshifter, but it appears that this man can."

"Great," Scott said flatly. He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head. "I just want to get through this. I can process later."

"Yes," Charles said. "But I don't know that I can make the proper connection when you're this out of sorts." He let out a sigh. "We can try again after a break if you like."

Scott nodded and got to his feet again, a little slower. "Yeah."

"You might feel better after a bite to eat," Charles suggested.

"Yeah, alright." Scott nodded to himself and then gave Charles a small smile. "Thanks. I'll … let's do this again tomorrow. I want to knock this out. And not just to figure out my powers, either," he said quietly.

Charles nodded "You're doing very well, Scott. Believe it or not.


	9. Testing Intentions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Territorial behavior is present in more than just the ferals. Obviously.

Scott and Charles headed toward the kitchen after their last session of the day. Charles was thinking deeply and Scott was nursing a bit of a tension headache, though when they got to their destination, K was sitting on the counter and looking overly thoughtful herself. "You two knocked off early," she noted.

Scott let out a sigh and nodded. "Yeah, we made some progress though," he assured her.

"Of course you did," she said. "It's you."

Scott smirked at that and shook his head at her as he headed to the fridge to pull together some leftovers. "Yeah, well, we're gonna do more tomorrow."

"Not up to it today then?" K asked, moving slightly to the side for Scott and handing him a plate from the cabinet behind her head.

Scott glanced over at Charles for a moment before he let out a soft sigh. "Well… I … the professor doesn't want me pushing too fast."

K looked past him to Charles and raised an eyebrow. "Perish the thought."

Charles met her gaze and shook his head lightly. "You must know I am trying to protect his mind," he said gently. "The memories we're examining are traumatic - not to mention the telepathic blocks in place."

She leaned forward at that. "What telepathic blocks?"

Charles looked toward Scott, who looked perfectly open toward K, and then leaned forward a bit to match her. "I believe that's why Scott doesn't remember the truth of what happened in that home. From what I saw, it appears a powerful telepath was involved."

She frowned slightly at that. "More powerful than you?"

"That remains to be seen."

"I'm not sure if that's an ego answer or not," she said.

"It's a truthful one," Charles said. "After all, we're still examining Scott's memories. When I can properly see the scope of the problem - and see more of those memories - I will know just what kind of telepath I'm dealing with."

She frowned deeper at that and tipped her head slightly. "That … doesn't track."

"How so?" Charles asked, both eyebrows raised.

"If a couple mid-level telepaths can tag team and break into my head on a hard day - I can't see why you couldn't see what you wanted to see." K was still frowning.

"Yes," Charles said calmly before he looked toward Scott. "But it would be painful, unpleasant, and my goal here is healing, not just sating my own curiosity. Or, for that matter, Scott's."

"Huh," she said, almost amused.

"I know that's not your experience, but I hope to show you that I  _am_ trying to help," Charles told her. "And I would not in good conscience force a fifteen-year-old into reliving years of repressed, possibly traumatic memories all at once."

"That, I believe," she said, nodding once lightly.

When the two adults were still clearly keeping their focus on each other, Scott cleared his throat lightly. "So… are you done talking about me?"

"Not yet, sweetheart," K said, turning to smile his way. "So who was this mystery telepath? Did you have someone running a racket on you? Only so many mind benders out there."

Scott smirked the slightest bit at her phrasing and shrugged lightly. "It was that same guy - the one Dad stabbed," he explained. "Dr. Pearson or Essex or whatever his real name actually was."

She shook her head lightly and shifted to pull her little notebook out of her back pocket and then made a few notes. "You know how that's spelled, Caramel Mocha?" She scrunched her nose up. "Nevermind. I'll figure it out."

"He's dead," Scott said.

"Okay, sure. Still gonna look," K muttered under her breath.

Scott frowned and rubbed his neck for a moment before he let out a breath. "Right. So… yeah. I guess he was studying my powers. I sorta broke a bathroom sink back at the home, apparently." He gave K a self-deprecating smile. "I've always been destructive, I guess."

"I'm sure it had it coming," K said as she reached over and patted his arm.

Scott smirked at that. "Yeah. Too hot water or something, right?"

"Sounds right to me," she agreed.

"I'll tell you what other inanimate objects apparently offended me enough to destroy them when I find out more, huh?"

"Oh, well I was there for the trees and the ocean - which. Yeah. Totally offensive. Harboring sea monsters and all."

Scott had to laugh at that. "Oh yeah. Absolutely," he agreed.

She put the notebook back into her back pocket. "I'll let you know what I find."

* * *

Scott and Charles had simply added daily work on the psychic plane into his regimen, and the more they worked, the more they uncovered, more instances of memories wiped out, the occasional glow or even optic blast repressed to keep Scott from remembering his own powers... What's more, it really hadn't done much for his control - but it had gotten Scott more focused on finding the whole truth as he dug through the memories with Charles.

Which was great for him mentally, K was entirely sure. But with no progress on the abilities front, she had to wonder if the lure of helping him with his abilities was just bait to get a kid in manipulate through psychology and freakin' telepathy.

What's more, while Logan found a little bit of hope on hearing how much Scott was remembering, K simply wasn't anywhere near open to letting Xavier piddle around in her head. So when the subject would casually come up, she would feign deafness and act as if she hadn't been paying attention to any of the conversation.

It probably didn't help that she didn't have anything else to do when she wasn't with Logan or Logan and Scott, so instead, she simply spent hours wandering the house and reading the papers that Xavier had published and casually investigating family and personal ties.

She had enough names to get some work done … she just needed a better computer, which of course, Xavier had little use for. She'd all but decided to take the truck while the boys were busy and head back to where the Avengers were camped out to spend a little time when she came to a stop on seeing Charles watching Logan and Scott work outside. They were doing their usual morning routine - martial arts and meditation, and until now, Charles hadn't shown an interest at all in what the two of them did in their time together.

"Martial arts is a little out of your breadth isn't it?" K said dryly when he didn't turn her way.

"It's intriguing to watch him learn that's all," Charles said with an almost sedate look on his face, though his gaze looked a bit harder than she thought fit his expression and without any warning, K took a few long strides to a nearby chair and pulled Charles around to face her.

"Alright, I'm going to level with you," K said. "I don't trust whatever it is you're doing. I'm not done digging on you -and I'm not going to stop either. The way you're looking at that boy? Logan's boy? I don't like it. You want to help him? Great. But that training room - all the crap you have lined up down stairs and partially programmed into your system? That doesn't have a damn thing to do with controlling his abilities. You know it, and I know it. So cut the crap."

Charles frowned at her for a long time before he finally let out a breath, obviously not too pleased with the tenor of the conversation but knowing it had to be addressed. "I told you when you came to see the school that I hoped to expand the school. Yes, I want to help my students learn to control their powers. But I would like to be able to give them even more - a way to use those powers to affect the world around them. For  _good_. Not the way you and Logan have been used."

"There was nothing 'good' about what we put up with," K said. "But that's not really answering me. What are you planning to do?"

"Just what I said: a way for my students to do good in the world."

"Pretty sure the Girl Scouts say the same thing, but I'm positive they don't have a computerized training room."

"And they also don't have members with the power that we do - at least, not openly," Charles argued. "These abilities- you  _know_ that the world sees them as dangerous. This… this can combat that fear."

"How many other students have you lined up?" K asked.

"I've reached out to a few others, but most families are unwilling to see the benefit in these abilties- or in honing them," Charles admitted.

She clucked her tongue to the roof of her mouth as she tipped her head back. "Ah. So that's why you're looking to Scott."

"I'm afraid I don't follow you," Charles said, though his eyes were narrowed.

"Families are a hindrance," K said. "But that kid? That one out there? He's got a dad already. He even likes him. And even though you're scrounging for orphans - that boy managed to find someone to take care of him at his age. Which I have to tell you - that's a huge freakin' deal."

"I'm aware," Charles said. "And I know he's very attached. I never suggested that families were a preclusion to enrolling here, K. I only said that you're the first to see the importance of investing in his abilities."

"You didn't have to say it," she replied. "They irritate you. I can see it when you talk about it."

"It's frustrating to see these young people being held back," Charles said.

"You have to know that their families are doing what they think is best. You're a telepath, not a fortune teller. You don't know what's coming or how."

Charles nodded. "No, but I hope to prepare them for anything that may happen."

"Noble," she said with one eyebrow raised. "But for all of what you've said about not doing anything without permission, I've felt you poking around trying to get a handle on things. So let me warn you." She leaned toward him and held his gaze with a neutral expression on her face. "If you try to screw up what Scott has with his dad, I will take your head clean off and kick a field goal to Atlantis with it."

Charles' eyebrows shot up, and he held up both of his hands in a conciliatory gesture. "There's no need for that."

"Says the one trying to stop the field goal," she said. "I don't trust you. That's not news. But I don't …  _think_ I like you either. I know you're underselling what you can do, too. I'm not pressing for you to use it on Scott, but I know you can do a lot more than what you're claiming."

Charles' frown only deepened at that as he leaned forward. "Then let's hope I never have reason to show you that potential."

She smirked crookedly at that though. "You know what? Go ahead. Any time they've screwed with my memories, I never  _really_ lost all of it. And I gotta tell you. I might forget everything? But I'd remember the people I don't like. And that's more than enough."

"Believe me, K - if I had reason to do that to you, it would be because we were already past the point that I was concerned about your feelings toward me."

"So any time now then, hmm?" she said as she got up and made her way over for a cup of coffee as the boys started up their cool down routine.

Charles narrowed his eyes and then shook his head, leaning back in his chair. "Scott cares for you both. Deeply. I won't damage that by breaking into your mind."

She watched him for a moment and finally nodded her head. "That's the truth at least." She turned and brought him a cup of tea before she sat down again. "In case you missed it, I'll save both of us time in the future. Logan and I can smell lies and deception. Try to avoid any of that."

Charles let out a 'hmm' as he leaned back. "Thank you for telling me," he said simply.

"I'd like to see that Scott comes through this in a better place than he was going in," she said. "That's all we're after. Your only edge here with us is that we know exactly what would happen to him if he were to go into government control."

"On that at least we can agree," Charles said. "I want him to improve as well."

She turned his way. "And if the other parents knew what we knew - you wouldn't be looking to orphans."

Charles was quiet for a long moment before he nodded slowly. "That is my hope," he said at last. "That people will understand these gifts to be  _gifts_ , not burdens. Something to be nurtured and explored. Not things to be controlled or weaponized. Maybe other parents will understand that as the school expands."

"Hard to inform them when even you thought it was the boogeyman."

"As amazing as it may be to hear, K, not even I am all-knowing," Charles said with a smirk.

"No, but Tony told me about the oddness that went down at the Avenger's place when you came by. You upset Cap. I had to hear about it third hand."

"It was the only way to get inside," Charles said. "And Scott needed to have an option for help."

"See -  _Charles_ , as much as I know Scott needed that option, it's things like that? Those things go against your own brochure. You can't say peaceful coexistence then turn around and make Captain America and everyone on the site your own little puppets. Even for a few minutes."

"It was really more gentle suggestion than commands," Charles said.

She raised an eyebrow at him, obviously calling him out. "And none of them remember it. But - one thing you can count on is that Stark will have  _tech._  That records everything."

"I'll remember that," Charles said calmly. "Now, are you finished with your laundry list of my character flaws?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Tell me that remembering that means a little more self restraint or I'll invite myself to go along with you just to hit you with a newspaper for crap like that."

Charles narrowed his eyes at that and then leaned back, smirking slightly. "Yes, I suppose it would be prudent to model the control I want my students to reach."

"Lead by example," she said as the door opened and Logan and Scott stepped inside.

"Hey, didn't know we had the whole house for an audience," Scott said, his eyebrows high when he saw the two of them.

"I wasn't watching you," K said without missing a beat.

"Dad, then."

"Absolutely," she agreed.

Scott didn't bother to hide his smile at that and nodded. "Well, good."

Logan turned toward Scott with a little frown but didn't say anything right away as he made his way over to get some coffee. "How do you really feel, Scotty?" Logan said dryly once he headed over to take a seat with K.

Scott smirked Logan's way. "I thought you said there was no shame in it."

"There's not," Logan agreed, putting his arm around K as he said it.

Scott shrugged openly. "Well that's that," he said.

"Man, neither one of you are subtle at  _all_ ," K said.

"You've said that a few times," Scott said as he pulled out the milk for some cereal.

"And you keep shocking me with how not-subtle you are. It's amazing."

"Thanks," Scott said with a smirk as he sat down with his breakfast to pour out the cereal.

She shook her head at him and then turned to steal a kiss from Logan. "I'm gonna head back to hijack Tony's computers today. Move some of Cap's stuff around in his room while I wait for some of the searches to finish. Nothing too out of line."

Logan frowned slightly but nodded his head. "Alright …."

"Need me to bring a message to Jan for you, Scott? Something  _subtle_ like 'no I'm not being held against my will. Don't come zipping by to rescue me, oh great and Mighty Wasp'."

Scott snorted. "Yeah. That."

Logan took K's coffee out of her hands when he'd downed his. "Maybe I oughta go with you."

"Maybe not," she argued, though she settled into his side a little more comfortably. "They're looking for you. Not so much for me - at least, according to Phil. And Phil doesn't fib."

"Creed's looking for you," Logan pointed out.

"And he can't find his own ass with both hands and a flashlight more often than not," she said, shaking her head.

"Is this Creed person part of the Department searching for both of you?" Charles asked, unable to ignore the expressions that both Logan and Scott were wearing.

"No, he is," K said.

"He's personally motivated to find her for reasons outside of money," Logan added, which only got K to pause, though she didn't argue it. "Which is why I'd rather you waited," he said more to K than anyone else.

"I don't want to wait on this. I'll just … check in and see if I can charm my way into a computer," K said looking totally earnest as she held Logan's gaze.

"And if you can't?" Scott asked, looking up at her with a slight frown in place.

"Then … I'll deal with it. But I'm pretty sure I can handle it," she said.

Logan tipped his head at that and quietly agreed, but it was clear he didn't like the sound of it. "Watch your back," he said finally.

"Of course," K replied, then made sure to kiss his jaw to get him to turn her way for a better kiss. "I'll be back before you know it. I'm not planning on this taking more than a few hours."

Logan tipped his head, but he wasn't exactly trying to be subtle about the fact that he didn't want to see her go alone to be with Stark, but … true to form he didn't try to tell her what to do, and instead simply handed over the keys as she stole a long kiss.

With a little wave to Scott, K simply headed toward the exit, leaving Logan staring down at his stolen coffee for a moment. "I'm goin' for a run," he decided, pushing back from the table. "See you when you're done with your lessons."

Scott looked up and nodded as he muttered a quiet 'okay', watching his adoptive dad head off looking far too tense for his liking.

Charles couldn't help but let out a sigh. This was going to be a long, hard day for everyone but K it seemed.


	10. Unsettled

It was almost expected that Logan was distracted with little to do but wonder what was going on downstate. Scott was in class, after all and with K gone, he had nothing to occupy his spare time. Nothing outside of trying to work out to a point that it might show on him anyhow.

Not that Scott was doing much better  _in_ classes. He too, was clearly distracted, and as a result, he and Charles didn't make nearly the progress that they would have on any other day. It was bad enough that Charles decided to return the favor that K had done for him. He was going to have a word with the little woman when she returned - simply to let her know the degree of distraction both Scott and Logan were dealing with knowing that she was in close quarters with what he had picked up from Scott as a rather  _amorous_ Tony Stark.

But that really wasn't doing a thing for Scott right  _now_. He still tried, of course, though even the journey to the psychic plane to dig around and find more instances of his mind being altered wasn't going as planned. Charles could see the little spots that seemed off, but Scott was distracted enough that exploring them or uncovering what they were hiding would have been almost entirely on Charles.

And target practice wasn't any better.

"I think," Charles said after Scott blew up an entire line of targets at once with one shot, "...that it might be wise to give you a little time to unwind. You've been working awfully hard at this."

Scott let out a breath but had to nod his agreement, rubbing the back of his neck with an obviously apologetic expression on. "Yeah… might be time for a break."

Charles took a moment to give him an encouraging sort of smile. "Scott, it's perfectly fine to be distracted - even to need a day off. You've made tremendous progress, even if you might not think so. It's not easy to learn control, nor is it a simple matter to break telepathic barriers."

"I don't want to stop-"

"No, of course not," Charles promised. "Don't think of it as a break if that's what bothers you, Scott." He smiled lightly. "Even I need the recharge every once in a while. We don't think of our minds as needing the breathing time that our muscles do, but the concept is the same."

Scott nodded at that and gave Charles one more sort of sheepish look before they packed up for the day, though Charles was still looking thoughtful long after Scott left to get some time to himself on the grounds.

He didn't have to try hard to hear Scott's thoughts and concerns about K being gone - and especially about the possibility that K could be spending time with the overly lecherous Tony Stark.

Given the man's reputation, Charles wasn't exactly surprised by the concerns that Scott had… but the memories Scott had of her interactions with Stark, of the obvious flirting and interest Stark showed her… and the fact that she'd at least partially reciprocated …

Charles let out a sigh. It was little wonder the boy was so distracted. It was clear Scott was pleased with the family he had made for himself, and Tony Stark, in Scott's mind, was a threat to that family unity. Whether or not that was the case was not important; it was clear that Scott was too distracted to focus on his work. And more likely than not, Logan's shorter mood was a product of the same concerns, if not quite the same reasoning.

Clearly, this was enough of a problem that Charles simply couldn't get anything done until K returned.

He would have to speak with her about this.

* * *

K, meanwhile had decided that the direct approach would get her the least bit of resistance once she got to Stark's hideaway that they'd left not too long ago. She parked the truck in a somewhat hidden spot and made her way up to the front door, where of course, she was let inside, though …

"I'm afraid isn't taking any unexpected visitors today," Jarvis told her.

"That's fine, I'm not here for him anyhow," K promised with a warm smile. "I was looking for Mrs. Pym or Captain Rogers. Agent Coulson would be better still."

He gave her a pleasant smile at that. "I'll see if anyone is available."

K thanked him as warmly as she knew how, but remained looking the part of a proper lady as she waited. No telling who was going to come up - if anyone, but as she looked at the Renoir on the wall in the entryway, someone she wasn't expecting came up behind her. She knew from the scent that he was a friendly - or mostly friendly anyhow, and though she'd heard and scented Agent Quartermain out, she was tactful enough to wait until he engaged before she reacted.

"Didn't think you'd be back so quickly," Quartermain said, and when K turned she smiled up at him.

"There really wasn't too much for me to do while Scott did his thing," K admitted. "Nothing but think - and get a little paranoid."

"That  _is_ a hazard," Quartermain agreed with his usual pleasant expression. "So what is it you're paranoid about? Anything I can help with?"

"I guess that depends on how close you and Phil operate," K replied honestly.

"Well … I try to be fair about things, but I don't know that we have quite the same methods of handling people with ah … unconfirmed backgrounds."

"I can wait if he'll be back soon," K assured him. "And I really was hoping to check in with Captain Rogers or Mrs. Pym."

"I think that Jan might be around," Quartermain said, smirking still. "Would you like to wait in the dining room for her?"

"That sounds fine to me," K agreed, quickly falling into step with him as he led the way. He pulled out a chair for her and then gave her a little smile before he left. K was entirely sure that this was a test to see if she was going to try and sneak off right away or not, so of course she sat sedately and waited for someone to return to her.

"Hey there, stranger," Tony called out after a short while. "What happened to Wolverine and his shadow?"

"Nothing, as far as I know," K replied, sure to put on a little smirk for him. "I thought you weren't around."

"That's … okay, so that's the standard response from Jarvis to ah …"

"Any pretty girls that have stayed the night here previously?"

Tony let out a breathy laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well … yeah. Actually."

"I'm oh, so shocked, Mr. Stark," K said, doing a fair job of looking as if it was scandalous.

"Uh huh. So what brings you back? Looking for something more exciting that the father-son duo?"

"I'd love to see what it is you think is more exciting than those two, but I don't have more than the afternoon before I have to go back."

"What's the rush?" Tony smiled a little wider. "I'm sure they're busy … doing … whatever it is that the guy upstate thinks he can manage."

"Well," K said slowly, drawing the word out. "I  _could_ use a few minutes with a decent computer …"

Tony tipped his chin up and appraised her carefully. "If - and only if you work some magic for me too."

"On the computer," K clarified.

"I can handle the computer just fine, thanks," Tony argued. "I want you to check out someone that I'm … a little concerned over."

"You want me to spy for you?"

"Just a little bit." Tony paused before he started to smile a little wider as he waited for her answer. "Help me smoke 'em out."

"I told them I'd be back tonight," K said.

"Yeah, well … you can be a little bit later than you were expecting. Come on. I'll give you free rein in my systems. I won't even look over your shoulder."

She bit her lip as she thought it over. "That … is admittedly an attractive offer. Especially if you don't trace my searching."

Tony faltered for a moment. "Well …"

"I'm asking upfront and open," K pointed out. "I could have easily just slipped in and done what I wanted without asking."

"I don't think you would though," Tony countered. "Better to keep it friendly." He smiled, confident and openly so.

"When did you want to smoke this spy out?" K asked, still not really moving as she watched him.

"Well you're here now … we could start up as soon as you're done with your searches."

She turned her head, looking out the window for a moment as she thought it over just a little longer. It wasn't too unreasonable a trade. And there really wasn't a thing she could do for the boys in Westchester …

"Alright, but I need to make a phone call," K said, making a point to ignore the  _grin_ he was wearing as she headed for the phone. She looked up at the clock to see what time it was, wondering if anyone was even near a phone when she called, but naturally - it was right in the middle of one of Scott's lessons, and she was sure that Logan wasn't going to be anywhere near a phone anyhow. "Screw it," she said, after she'd let it ring for a long moment. "Let's just get it over with."

Tony offered her his arm, and with a sigh, she hung up the phone and took his arm as he led her over to his computers. "I'll see you … what? You need a couple hours?"

"At most," she agreed, letting out a sigh once he stepped out of the way and left her with the system to dig. K took off her overshirt and slid into the seat, pulling her feet up to sit crosslegged as she worked. At least getting in was going to be easy enough. She'd honestly expected some kind of hassle … just not … whatever this was.

She blew a wisp of hair out of her face and got down to work, digging into the Home for Foundlings first of all - and every physician attached to it. Xavier's familial connections could wait. This … this was more important.

It wasn't long though before K was completely wrapped up in what she was finding - or more importantly- what she wasn't. She frowned at the name on her notebook. She knew she'd gotten it right … she wrote it down as soon as the guys had said it …

But there wasn't anyone with that name on any of the records she could find. There was no Dr. Pearson or even a Mr. Pearson anywhere … not on any staff listings, nor as an educator …

She growled to herself as she tried different spellings, surprising even herself with some of the creative spelling options, but …  _nothing._  She sat back for a moment and frowned at the screen before she tried the  _other_ name Scott had said, but that was another … multiple spelling - no-luck on 'Essex'.

"Find what you needed?" Tony asked as he finally came back.

"No," she admitted before she closed out the screen and turned his way. "You're ready to do … whatever this is, hmm?"

"All I know is that someone's out to get me."

"Long list."

"I  _mean_ someone's got a shorter timetable."

"So … what would you normally do on any given night?" K asked.

"Honestly? Lately - nothing. If there's not a gala or something I have to go to, I'm here."

She held her hand out for the folder under his arm - everything that SHIELD had accumulated on the threat he was facing, and as she read it over, she started to nod slowly. "I don't suppose Jan has a black bodysuit I could use, does she?"

He raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't shoot her down. "May-be? If you're looking for dress up options-"

"I am  _not_. I just want something easier to blend into the shadows."

"Too bad," he muttered. "Okay. Well … what do I get to do?"

"If history's any indicator, drink until you're comfortable. I'll handle the rest." She got to her feet and headed off in the direction of Jan's room, and to Tony's surprise, once he followed a short while later, the only indication she'd been there at all was her clothes folded and stacked on a chair.

"Oh great," Tony said under his breath to himself. "She's being sneaky." He looked around the room, spinning on the spot before he half-heartedly threw his hands up and then did as she'd told him to - simply trying to go about his usual business. Not that it was particularly easy when he knew that he had just let an assassin loose in his house.

But after a few hours, nothing seemed too far amiss, and Tony did finally do exactly as K had suggested, and poured himself a drink.

* * *

The duo that let themselves into the Avengers mansion had long been able to get past Tony's security systems, so there wasn't any indication at first as the two black-clad figures split - one of them at a distance while the other snuck closer to where Tony was relaxing.

She was glad to see that he was drinking, really, because that made her job easier. She was nearly silent as she approached, knife in hand - though if the direct approach didn't work, she'd told her partner to watch the door and be prepared to simply shoot him if he got past her.

As she got closer to Tony, there was a movement in the shadows much closer to him. Not much, but the glint of light off of silver caught the would-be assassin's attention a fraction of a second after a tell-tale  _snikt_ echoed the room.

She paused at the sound, recognition in her expression before she actually  _saw_ K - and realized that she was not at all who she had expected. She shifted immediately from her more open expression and body language to an attack, and the knife meant for Tony instead flew toward K.

K raised her arm, slicing the blade neatly into four pieces before she darted toward the woman. The growl she let loose was just enough to tip Tony off that whatever it was that was going on- it was happening.

Tony got to his feet, but before he had even fully turned, the second player made his presence known with an arrow that broke the glass in Tony's hand. "Let's just call this a draw, shall we?" asked the archer with an arrow pointed at Tony's head now. "Try again later?"

"Not a chance," K growled out before she retracted her claws and threw a heavy punch at the woman - plowing through the block that was thrown up.

"Well, I tried," the archer sighed, shifting focus to shoot at K - though that only seemed to frustrate his partner.

"Keep your  _focus_ ," she snapped toward her partner. "Kill Stark."

"Kill him, she's as good as dead," K growled out, emphasizing her point by keeping up with the woman every step of the way.

The archer looked between the two women fighting and Tony before he lowered his bow and put his arrow back in his quiver, ignoring the string of curses from his partner. "Yeah, sorry, Stark's not as important to me as you are so cool off," he shot back.

"You're not killing him," K told the woman. "Not tonight - not at all."

"What's your stake?" the woman replied with her eyes narrowed.

"Not your business," she shot back. "And I can't be bought. So don't try it."

The woman glared at K for a long time before her partner spoke up. "So… now what?" he asked.

"Shoot her," the assassin said simply.

"Yeah, shoot me - I'll yank the arrow and put it through her eye," K said, smirking at her.

The archer was already shaking his head. "No can do," he said. "So how 'bout we go our separate ways, huh?"

"That's not usually how this kind of thing goes, big guy," K said, though she hadn't taken her eyes off of the woman at all.

"Well, we don't usually run into a woman with claws, so we can all try new things, yeah?"

"Tony, you have any thoughts?" K asked.

"We've got a containment area Pym set up," Tony offered.

K started to slowly shake her head before she simply darted toward the glaring assassin in what could only be equated to a low-blow tackle. That of course, turned into a wrestling match. The fight was fierce and both women were clearly playing dirty and for keeps - though it seemed pretty even until K let out a snarl when the woman stabbed her in the side.

Swearing in Swedish, K hauled off and cracked the assassin in the head twice, in quick succession, then yanked her arms behind her shoulders before the woman could recover. "I  _should_ take your head off," K hissed out as the woman tried to get out of the hold.

"Woah, hey, don't do that," the woman's partner called out. He had both hands up, palms facing K. "Don't kill the girl, huh? We give up, okay? See?"

"Your partner stabbed me," K said, the growl clear in her voice. "It's only fair if I return the favor."

"She does that," the man said. He put his bow on the ground and raised his hands again. "See? C'mon. Work with me here."

Tony cleared his throat and looked toward K. "Okay, as nice as it is to have the problem detained? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that she's the one we want to interrogate on who sent her. Partner isn't too bright…"

"Oh, did you need me to interrogate her?" K said sweetly. "That wasn't the deal but I'm sure we can make another arrangement, …"

"I just meant we should take them in and not, you know,  _murder_ them?" Tony said. "Not that the protective look isn't one of my favorites on you…"

"I'm glad I found the bodysuit before you could make a different suggestion," she replied. "Get your backup. If either of them moves, I'll put a claw through her."

Tony nodded before he went to call in the rest of the Avengers - or at least a couple and some good restraints. And when Steve and Thor showed up, the woman was still hissing invectives, though her partner was being perfectly still and cooperative so long as he kept his gaze on the woman.

It didn't take much time for the two Avengers to get them into custody, and as soon as they were out of the room and being taken to Tony's isolation … K finally let out a long breath. "I need a shower now." She was frowning at the blood on her hands.

"I can help with that," Tony said without missing a beat.

"Yeah?" she replied, not missing the chance to pick. "What would you do?"

"Start at the shoulders and work my way down," he said with a grin as he took a few steps closer.

"Yeah, that won't work," she said, shaking her head slowly. "I have blood in my hair. Guess I'll have to do it myself."

"Oh, well, I suppose I could work my way up, but that isn't usually my style…"

She couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "You're something else, you know that?"

"Of course I do," he said, grinning even wider.

"As entertaining as either of those options are - you need to go see what the story is with those intruders. I'll find a shower and make use of it - and if you're lucky, I'll catch you before I head back. Hours and hours  _late._ "

"You aren't curious?" Tony asked. "Come on, I'll put you up for the night…"

"Oh absolutely," K said, nodding seriously. "Terribly curious, but I'm involved."

"And that means you're not allowed to follow up on would-be assassins?" Tony asked, one eyebrow arched up.

"Do I need to follow up on would-be assassins? I thought we were still in the flirting and borderline dirty talk."

Tony paused for just a moment, trying to decide what to address first. "Well, no, you don't  _need_ to - we can probably just ask the guy and tell him we'll let you in the cage with the girl and he'll tell us everything."

"You're not even exaggerating," she laughed. "Worst spy ever."

"I should be insulted - I usually rate top-notch bad guys," Tony chuckled.

"She was actually pretty damn good," K pointed out. "I don't know where she found him, but … better screening on her part would have been bad for you. Maybe."

"We'll chalk it up to my insanely good luck, then," Tony said.

"That has to be it," she agreed. "I may have to come back at some point. No promises, of course. I really didn't get anywhere today."

"That's too bad," Tony said. "Maybe next time, I can help."

"I wouldn't say no," K said. "To help."

Tony raised both eyebrows and then grinned at her outright. He stepped forward and put his hand on her back as he leaned toward her. "Are you  _sure_ you don't want to stay the night?"

K turned toward him and gave him a little smile. "I'm pretty happy with my dance partner now, Tony. Wish I could help you more." She popped up on her toes to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Can't blame a guy for trying. See you next time, then."

"Thank you, Mr. Stark," she sang out before she headed for the door. She turned the corner and rushed for Jan's room, if nothing else, to snatch her clothes on the way to an empty suite, where she very quickly washed up then rushed out.


	11. Oh, How The Tables Have Turned

By the time K got back to the big house in Westchester, the sun was coming up and she was swearing under her breath about lopsided deals. She didn't bother trying to sneak in - it wouldn't do her a bit of good by Logan anyhow, and as she expected, he was just getting the coffee going in the kitchen when she stepped in.

"You wouldn't believe the amount of stupid that was going on at that place this time," she said before she hopped up on the counter next to him and let out a breath.

"Yeah? Try me," Logan replied.

K tipped her chin down and drew in a deep breath as she gave him a quick rundown, answering his questions as they came up. "And the worst part is that I didn't even find anything on the idiot I went looking for," K concluded.

Logan was frowning deeply at that part though. "The name was right?" She nodded. "And there wasn't  _any_ record?"

"Not a bit." She let out a breath. "I know you said you killed him - or you think you did, but his name should at least be listed in the past directors - or whatever the hell they're called if he was there."

Logan didn't look ready to speak up about that one way or the other though, and he simply poured them both a cup of coffee and led the way to the dining room table. She took a moment to let out a breath and then scooted a little closer to steal a kiss. "I really didn't intend to be gone so long," she said quietly.

"I'm sure," he replied almost as quietly as he raised his arm slightly for her to curl into his side better. He still wasn't exactly thrilled by how the day previous had gone, but he also believed her story. Though if she was the type that was going to keep playing both sides against the middle, he needed to know before he got too deeply invested.

"Believe it or not, it wasn't completely horrible," she said as Charles came into the room. "But I doubt that I should go back for more intel if I'm being upfront about things."

Charles paused for only a moment when he saw the two of them before he raised an eyebrow K's way. "When did you arrive?"

"Just a little while ago, actually," she replied, seeing no reason to lie about it.

Charles frowned at that and then nodded to himself. "I wonder if I could have a word - after you've eaten, of course.I don't imagine you've had time for breakfast if that's the case."

"I'm really not hungry," K said. "Coffee is fine. But if you want a word after that - I'm all ears."

Charles nodded at that, preparing his own tea for the morning, though it was obvious he was deep in his own thoughts.

K was partway into her coffee when Scott arrived as well and looked honestly relieved as he smiled her way. "Didn't hear you come in."

"I was stupidly late," she said. "But I got time in with Avengers. I'll tell you about it later. Jan sends her love, of course."

Scott nodded at that. "Of course. I'm surprised she didn't also send a wardrobe."

"I left before she could get that far," K laughed. "I thought you liked to pick your own things out, so I just … avoided that mess."

"Much appreciated," Scott said, smiling a bit more as he grabbed a couple slices of toast to take out with him - he and Logan would start out the day with their usual warmups and martial arts.

Logan made a point to kiss her temple as he got to his feet. "Glad you're back in one piece," he said quietly as he headed toward the door, with Scott right behind him.

Charles was quiet until Logan and Scott were well into their warmups before he turned to K. "You should know," he said, "that they were both preoccupied with your absence.  _Entirely_ preoccupied."

K frowned at that as she watched him for a long moment. "I'm sorry to hear that they didn't get much done yesterday," she replied. "I wish I could say that I did, but it must have just been that kind of day."

"Then it was a sadly unproductive day for every one of us," Charles said with a sigh. "Scott in particular - even without my powers, I could easily see his worry." He turned her way more fully and frowned deeper. "This Tony Stark… Scott is entirely convinced that the man is a threat to the family he's built. And considering our most recent conversation on how important that family is to him, you must know how shaken he is."

K frowned deeper at that. "Tony's nothing and noone to worry about," K said, shaking her head. "He flirts - and sure, I flirt back, but … no. That's not an option."

"It's not me that needs convincing, K," Charles said lightly.

"I don't know what I could do to convince him, honestly. We've discussed it before."

Charles frowned as he thought over his answer. "You and Logan haven't been together long, as I understand it," he said at last, slowly.

"No, we haven't," she agreed.

"Then surely you can see how precarious that relationship appears to a young man," Charles said.

She nodded at that. "I can see it," she said, nodding as she thought it over. "He was upset about my spending time with Tony before things got started with Logan, too."

"That's an understandable reaction," Charles said. He let out a sigh. "From what I have seen of his mindscape, I can comfortably tell you that you are already, in his mind, a mother to him - even if he has not said it."

She smiled to herself and tipped her chin to her chest. "He's a good boy."

"I tend to agree," Charles said. "Which is why I wanted to speak to you, express my concerns. I absolutely cannot help him when he is terrified of losing you. Whether that's to Tony Stark or otherwise, the fear is the same."

She nodded at that. "I'll make a point to show both of them where they rate to me, and I won't go back alone," she promised. "But I  _will_ probably end up going back sooner or later." She let out a little sigh. "I was digging into the staff from the Home for Foundlings. The doctor from that institution doesn't exist. There are no records about him anywhere."

Charles leaned forward with his hands together. "That  _is_ concerning," he said. "Especially since there are so many instances of his tampering in Scott's mind."

"I  _will_ find him," K promised. "But whoever he is, I don't think he's gone. There's no reason for anyone else to want to cover his tracks. And whoever he is? He's good at covering up what he's doing."

Charles' frown only deepened at that. "Then we must proceed carefully. He's a shapeshifter as well as a telepath - it will be hard to defend against that."

K couldn't help but growl lightly. "As much as I've been screwed around by telepaths, I dislike shapeshifters even more." She drew in a long, even breath. "But I think you need to know what I found since you're working with him," she said. "That's the reason I was so late, too. To use the computers without breaking a few dozen federal laws, I agreed to help Tony catch someone that was sent to kill him. It took a little while."

"Ah," Charles said, nodding. "And I take it Mr. Stark is safe and sound?"

"He was when I saw him last," she said. "I caught the would be assassins. The Avengers took them into custody. Not my problem what happens now, but you'd think they should be able to handle it."

"I would imagine," Charles said, leaning back slightly. "In the meantime… I'm sure Scott would love to hear the story  _before_ our session today," he added with the slightest of smirks.

"If you think it'll help his focus, I think I can stay awake that long," K replied with a tired sort of smile.

"If you would," Charles said. He gave K a tight smile. "You have no idea just  _how_ preoccupied he was."

"I'm sure there were all kinds of scenarios in his head on what  _might_ have happened," K said. "It's my own fault. I did go out with Tony a couple times."

"Yes," Charles said with a slow nod and a soft smile. "I saw."

"Oh, well. Then I am sorry to hear that," she said, smiling tightly.

Charles leaned back and shook his head. "Not at all," he said. "I just wanted you to know." He turned in his chair to leave. "To return the favor, as it were."

"I appreciate it," K said - her amusement clear in her voice. "Truly."

When K did find Scott - after he had finished his morning routine with Logan - he waved her way. "So, you never did tell me what happened," he said.

"I had to barter a favor for computer time," K explained. "And I ended up stopping what sounded an awful lot like a Russian spy and her partner from killing Iron Man." She gave him a little smile at that. "Cap and Thor took over on the two of them once I had her restrained and down - then they all went down to interrogate and I cleaned up and came back here." She shrugged lightly. "I think I spent all of … maybe … an hour? Hour and a half with Tony. Tops. And most of that was just before and during the fight with the spy."

Scott nodded, though she could tell he was obviously relieved by the way his shoulders dropped. "Sounds busy."

"So, so busy," she agreed. "I got stabbed and I haven't slept yet, so … if you're going to go make yourself more amazing … I think I'm going to take a nap."

"You were stabbed?" Scott repeated, his eyebrows even higher than before.

"It was a very  _nasty_ little assassin," she said. "She very much didn't want to be caught."

Scott shook his head at that, though he couldn't quite stop the smirk at the corner of his mouth. "Sounds like it," he agreed. "Want an escort? The professor's office is on the way," he offered.

"I'd love an escort for at least that far, that'd be great, thanks," she said, smiling crookedly at him as she stepped forward, took his arm and leaned on his shoulder. "Sorry I got held up. I was trying to be upfront with the Avengers and not just … infiltrate them."

"No, that's fine, really," Scott said. "Better to keep the lines of communication open."

* * *

Scott was glad for the target practice after each telepathic session with the professor - because if he was honest, trying to control his powers was much easier than slogging through the red-lined memories of the past few years.

The professor said it was important that he work through the telepathic blocks Pearson had put in place, because they were related to memories of his own powers. And Scott could see the logic, of course: it seemed like every time he had made any progress in the past, or started to suspect Pearson wasn't who he represented himself to be… that was a hidden memory. And every time that happened, the professor looked more serious.

Scott had to wonder if he would have had as much trouble now if Pearson had just left him alone, but that was what the psychic sessions were for.

Still, it was actually relaxing after spending that much time in some of the most stressful memories of his life to go down to the range and let loose on some targets. The idea was to get him to at least aim the beams coming from his eyes, and thankfully, that much was working. He was pretty good at hitting what he meant to hit, even if he couldn't quite stop the constant glow or the fact that there was still an optic beam waiting to break loose every time he took off the glasses.

He hadn't fallen flat on his back in ages, though that was also thanks to a lot of the training he had done with Logan, perfecting a stance that gave him a little more stability before he even attempted to take a shot.

And at the end of every target practice session, he would at least  _try_ to shut it off. The idea was that he was already wearing out, after all, and it stood to reason that he might at least be able to turn off the optic blasts when he was nearly empty even if he knew trying it when he was fresh was out of the question.

It hadn't worked so far… that is, until the end of that particular session. Scott was pretty worn out going in, because he and the professor had uncovered a pretty nasty memory of one of Pearson's early experiments. And that of course had him in the mood to blast through every target with a little more oomph… until he got to the end and blinked a few times against the constant pressure just behind his eyes.

He had the glasses back on, but he was watching the glow. And he could swear that it was gone when he looked in the mirror.

Scott blinked, stared at his reflection, and then broke into a disbelieving sort of smile before he carefully lifted up the glasses. For just a second, he could see his own reflection -  _in living color_ \- before everything went red again, and he instinctively threw up his hands just as the mirror shattered and his glasses dropped back into place quickly even though he had his eyes screwed tightly shut.

He paused for a moment and carefully opened his eyes before he almost sheepishly glanced back at the professor, who looked honestly pleased - and pleasantly surprised as well. The glow was back now, and the mirror was absolutely unusable - but that was  _real progress_.

He broke into a grin the professor's way. "That - that's the first time it's turned off in  _weeks_."

"You're making progress," Charles replied, smiling back at him.

Scott grinned even wider at that. "I've got to tell my dad," he said, then paused and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh... sorry about the mirror. Hopefully that's not too much bad luck on both of us, right?"

"It's perfectly fine," Charles laughed. "And I think luck is what you make of it." He gestured with both hands. "Go. Go find him."

Scott grinned wider before he rushed off, somehow not surprised to find that Logan and K were together by the boathouse. He caught up to them in a burst of speed before he skidded to a stop, still grinning.

"What happened?" Logan asked as Scott caught his breath.

"It turned off - I turned it off," Scott breathed out. "Just for a second or two… but it was off."

Logan raised an eyebrow and a second later, grinned brilliantly right back at him. "It's working then - you're doing it."

Scott looked like he couldn't contain the expression on his face as he nodded. "It was just a few seconds, but… yeah!"

"Oh my God, you two …" K said, shaking her head at both of them before she darted over and wrapped Scott up in a tight hug. "I'm not surprised. You got this!"

Scott returned the hug just as tightly, still looking almost dazed. "I have to figure out how to do it without wearing myself out first," he admitted with a self-deprecating smile.

"One step at a time," Logan said, still grinning at him in a way that Scott simply hadn't seen Logan do before.

"Right, yeah," Scott nodded quickly. "But still. It's progress."

"It's great," he agreed. "You've been working yourself to the bone. And it's payin' off."

"Thanks," Scott said, then broke form and simply pulled Logan into a hug.

Logan squeezed him back in a bear hug. "Just a matter of time, right?"

Scott nodded. "Right." He stayed in the hug for a long while, simply basking in his excitement, before he finally let out a breath and shook his head. "Right, so… I'm thinking I might just crash now, honestly," he admitted. "I'm worn out."

Logan nodded at that and rested his hand on the side of Scott's neck for a moment. "I'm not surprised. Gotta be a rush."

Scott smirked and shook his head. "Yeah, well… it's a lot. Sorting out what Pearson did and then trying to keep from blasting a hole in anything I look at… I'm pretty sure I wore myself out enough even my powers were worn," he admitted.

"I think you need a tiny celebration," K said. "I don't know what - but something."

"Maybe we could just get something nice for dinner together," Scott offered. "I don't think I have the energy for a whole…. Thing."

"Just tell me what you want and I'll make it happen," she said. "But you can take a nap now. Unless you want to just … pretend like you're not napping and 'watch the game' with your Dad."

Scott looked between the two of them and then smirked. "It's been a while since we did that… ordered a pizza… you could make fun of hockey," he teased K.

"Only if you enjoy it," she said, smiling a little wider. "Otherwise I can be nice and quiet."

"Well, it depends who's playing," Scott said with a smirk. "We'll figure it out when we find a game."

"Great, something is always on," she said. "So go inside, pick out your pizza and I'll catch the delivery boy."

Scott grinned and nodded at that - though really, it was almost no time after the pizza was delivered and eaten before Scott really was out, asleep on the couch on the other side of Logan with his head tipped back and his mouth open.

K got up and covered him up with a blanket as lightly as she could before she settled back in at Logan's side, both of them content to let the kid sleep.


	12. Interrogation

"Hey, guess what?" K said as Scott took a seat across from her at breakfast one weekend.

"Umm, I've got nothing," he said with a smirk.

"We … are going to see the Avengers today. I was told we had a few updates we needed to hear, so …"

Scott sat up a little straighter at that. "What kind of updates?" he asked.

"News on the department," Logan said. "If what Stark had to say meant anything."

Scott nodded. "Alright, when are we headed out?"

"After breakfast," Logan said. "But take your time."

Scott nodded again, though he was smirking hard. "I was just thinking I might grab a different shirt. Plain white."

"Whatever you want to do," Logan said with a smirk.

The drive in was just as long as it was the last time they'd made it, but with some potential good news waiting for them on the other side, they were all three ready to just get there and find out what the heck was going on.

But this time, when they got out of the truck, Logan was a little surprised when K made her way over and slipped her arm around his back then gave him a kiss. "Lead on," she said quietly.

He let out a little chuff and smirked to himself as he mirrored the move, letting her half curl into his side. Scott didn't miss it either, and didn't even consider hiding the grin as he stood up a little straighter, a bounce in his step as the three of them made their way inside.

They didn't have long to wait in the entry before Steve came out grinning. "About time you guys got here," he said. "I'm pretty sure we have them on the run for now anyhow. SHIELD broke up their communications center - they're trying to regroup."

"And I found their funding," Tony said as he walked in a few paces behind Steve, without the usual broad grin they were used to seeing on him when he saw the way the two ferals were so obviously wrapped around each other. "So money is an issue for them right now. Which … means employment is a big issue. No manpower." But that finally had him smirking crookedly. "You should be able to go out freely. For now anyhow."

"Probably enough time to get a driver's license, then," Scott told Logan.

"Or a pilot's license," Logan said, smirking at him.

Scott's smirk turned into a full smile. "Or both."

"I'm game if you are," he said. "I'll call Harry today. He's got instructor certification."

By then, Scott was outright grinning. "That sounds perfect."

"So … does that mean you can finally take us out to that sushi place you were talking about?" K asked in a teasing tone. "I know Caramel Mocha is dying to try that stuff."

"It does sound good," Scott agreed with a small nod.

"Maybe," Logan said, frowning slightly. "Be more fun if Cap goes too."

"I'm in," Steve agreed, grinning. "It's about time we had something to celebrate, right?"

"Thanks, Tony," K called out as the four of them headed toward the door again. "We can get the fine details later, I'm sure. I think these two are overdue to get  _out_."

"You come all the way out here just to steal my teammate and strand me?" Tony teased.

"I'm sure you'll find  _someone_ to entertain yourself with," she shot back. "Maybe that assassin? She was kinda cute."

"Um. Yeah. About that." Tony shrugged lightly. "She's… gone, actually."

K stopped cold at that and spun on her heel as the others came to a stop. "Excuse me." Her tone was perfectly flat as she tipped her chin down and locked onto him. "What did you do?"

"Hey, it wasn't  _my_ fault," Tony said, holding his hands up. "It was  _Pym's_ idea."

K tipped her head slightly. " _What_. Was Pym's idea?"

Steve shook his head with a sigh. "Attempted rehabilitation gone wrong," he said. "As soon as she had the slightest chance, she was gone. Left her partner, too," he added.

"Where. Is. He," K growled out.

"Where else? Tinkering with his Pym particles in the lab," Tony said.

"Not Pym - where's the partner?" K said.

"Right where you left him," Steve said. "And I thought we could talk about this over dinner."

"In Tony's bedroom? Interesting holding cell," K said flatly.

Tony laughed at that and held up his hands. "No, when you left, they were both in our lockdown. Basement."

"Ah, but that's not where I left him," she said. "Gimmie."

"Hey, wait - I thought you were abandoning me for sushi with Cap and your … Logan," Tony said with one eyebrow raised.

"They can go ahead if they want. I can catch up," she said. "Gimmie."

Steve and Tony shared a glance before Steve took a few steps toward her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I seriously doubt he can give you a location on her," he said. "We've tried talking to him - he wasn't assigned like she was. Just tagging along. And I can tell you about it in a minute."

"Well, I can be  _very_ persuasive," she purred in a smoky tone.

Again, the two Avengers shared a look before Tony nodded once. "Okay, if he  _does_ know anything - which I doubt - be my guest. I'd like to know where she is too. Seeing as I like my head where it is," he said.

"No, Tony, she was just going to stab you," K said before she turned to Logan and Scott. "Are you three going ahead, or …"

"Yeah, no," Logan said, shaking his head at that. "I wanna see what kind of assassin has Cap feelin' sorry for him."

"That's not what I said," Steve argued, looking slightly deflated as Logan smirked at him.

"I'll come too," Scott said. "I mean, might as well, right?"

That had Tony nodding and tipping his head toward Scott, though his gaze was on K. "Kid-friendly interrogation, okay? We don't kill or torture here."

"Might be why you don't have any answers," K said with an easy shrug as she glided back toward Logan.

"He's serious, K," Steve said with a look her way.

"So am I," she said. "But fine. Lead the way to your new adoptee."

When the little group arrived, K got her first real look at the would-be assassin without the black clothing and mask. He was about twenty, blond, with his arms behind his head as he absently bounced his foot in the cell where they were keeping him.

"Are you sure he's not one of yours, Captain Rogers?" K asked quietly. "Like … biologically."

Steve turned with his whole body to face her. "No," he said, though he was also fairly red at the insinuation.

"I'm just saying," she said under her breath, getting a bark of a laugh out of Tony. "Okay, let me in …"

Steve paused before he would have opened the door. "Really, we do have rules…"

She held her hands out. "I'm not dressed for anything useful. I'm just hoping he remembers my voice. Okay?"

Steve nodded at that before he stepped back to allow her into the cell, where the young man sat up with a small smile when he saw the newcomer. "Okay, you're new."

"Not really," K said. "Who are you, anyhow?"

The young man frowned, his head tipped to the side as he obviously tried to place her voice. She could see when it clicked for him, and he held up his hands. "Already told the Avengers - I'm just … nobody, okay? Carnie from Iowa with a bow."

She made her way over and took a seat next to him. "Then what were you doing with a Russian spy type?"

He shrugged, looking almost sheepish. "Didn't know she was a spy at first, to be honest," he said. "She got me out of a tight spot, and well… you know how it is when you want to give a girl the world…"

"No, I really don't," she said. "I'm not usually on that side of the equation. Why don't you fill me in."

He gestured with both hands. "What can I say? Can't say no to her." He gestured around the cell with a sigh. "Obviously, the feeling isn't mutual."

"Did this mystery siren give you a name?"

"Yeah, Natasha," he said. "I already told Captain America, though…"

"Does Natasha have a last name?" K asked. "I picked on Cap too hard for him to tell me anything. And I'd prefer to hear it from you Mr ... "

"Oh, right." The blond sat up a bit and offered her his hand. "Clint Barton. Nice to … well, okay, not nice because the last time we met involved weapons and death threats. But … right."

K took his hand and shook it gently. "Well if what you said about her was anything to go by at the time - that kind of thing happens," she said. "I'm K."

"So, you're the Avengers' secret assassin?" Clint asked.

"No," she said with a little laugh as she shook her head. "Nothing like that. I just did Tony a little favor that day. That's all. So … your friend. Last name?"

"Right. Well, the name I got was Natasha Romanoff, but I'm starting to wonder if that was real or not," Clint admitted. "Seeing as that's a spy thing, right?" He shrugged. "I'm not really a spy; I wouldn't know. I'm just the point and shoot guy."

"It is very much a spy thing," she agreed. "So you're an assassin then, Mr. Point-and-shoot Barton?"

"I guess?" Clint winced one eye shut and shrugged. "I  _tried_ the hero thing and nearly got arrested, so this was the next best offer an ex-circus performer could get."

She blinked hard at that and glanced toward where the others were. "How ... " she pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment. "What were you doing to try the 'hero' thing, anyhow? I'm a little confused on how you went from attempted hero to attempted assassin."

"Oh, well, that's down to Nat," Clint said, the tone of affection obvious. "Tried to stop a bank robbery - actually, no, I  _successfully_ stopped a bank robbery. Got blamed for the bank robbery. That's when Nat stepped in, pulled me out of trouble, and hey, I owed her." He smiled. "And she's gorgeous, you know? Most amazing woman I've ever met."

"You really did just stumble into this," she said in an almost bewildered tone.

"That  _is_ what I've been saying," Clint said. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I know trying to kill Tony Stark ain't exactly hero material, but…"

"No, I believe you," K said. "I've considered killing him a few times myself on my own, without being assigned to go after him. I think that's normal."

Clint nodded and then glanced toward the door of the cell. "So, what now? Nat's gone, and I really don't know that much about the people she worked for…"

"I don't know," she said. "I'm not an Avenger. I don't have any pull, really, but I know you're telling the truth." K looked pointedly toward where the others were and raised an eyebrow. "So I'm sure they won't keep you here forever. You didn't really do anything but illegal entry and breaking a glass."

Clint chuckled at that. "Oh yeah. I'm a model citizen, me."

"I've met younger that are worse," she said. "What are you … early 20's?"

"Got it in one," Clint said, touching the side of his nose. "What, few years younger than you?"

She shook her head at that. "You need your eyes checked," she said before she raised her voice a little. "He's a baby, Tony."

"Hey now," Clint said with a frown as he leaned forward.

"You are," she said, very matter-of-factly. "And I don't look just a few years older than you. What's wrong with you?"

"You're, what, thirty?" Clint pointed out. "I mean, sure, seven years is a lot more than 'a few', but I was raised to guess generously for a lady, right?"

"I'd prefer truthful. Always," she said.

Clint shrugged. "Alright. Suit yourself," he said.

"Thank you for the compliment, though." She got to her feet and shook her head. "Alright, Tony, congratulations, you caught a baby carnie bird. He's wet behind the ears and he's still got duck fluff on his head."

"He-e-ey," Clint said. "I'll have you know I've been shooting for a dozen years now. I'm not… no."

"It's not your fault you're an infant," K said to Clint. "But it does explain how you got so snookered."

"That … you ain't met Nat," Clint pointed out. "I'm telling you… she's something else."

"I kinda did," K replied. "And yeah, she's something else alright."

Clint shook his head at that but kept up his easy smile as K made her way toward the door. "Hey, if you find the Room or whatever, don't kill her, okay?"

"What room?" K asked.

"I don't know; that's where the order came from," he said. "I wasn't paying much attention to that part." He dropped the smile and looked more serious. "I mean it; she's something special, and I don't want her dead, okay?"

She tipped her head at that. "She didn't try to do this on her own accord?"

"Way I understand it, someone sent her," Clint said with a nod. "You can kill them if you want; I'm not too attached."

"And what happens if by some stroke of luck they find her and bring her back - and she doesn't swoon on seeing your duck fluff again?"

Clint shook his head. "Come on, I'm not a tool. I'm not going to ask you to kill her just because she won't jump in bed with me again."

"Not what I meant," K said, though she had her eyes closed at that last comment. "I meant what about you? You're willing to put yourself on the line for her - she's not returning the favor, but if she's under someone's control she might not be able to… that's what you're thinking, right?"

Clint bit his lip and then shrugged. "Well, I mean… would be nice if there wasn't a third wheel Room organization…"

She sighed heavily. "You are really bad at this assassin thing, you know that right?"

"I'm great at shooting," he argued. "Always hit what I'm aiming for."

"Yeah, but … I'm … Captain America can figure out … I don't even know where to  _start_ with you." She headed over to the door. "Okay. he's all yours. Let me out before I get out on my own." She was completely frustrated with the lack of progress.

When Tony opened the door for her, he was smirking - though behind him, Steve had a serious expression on, deep in quiet conversation with Logan. "I swear, you just … adopt every wayward waif, don't you?" Tony teased her as he closed the door behind her.

K let out a slow breath, trying to dig up some patience, but she really wasn't in the mood. "Mr. Stark, I think it's about time you and I had a little one on one," she growled out. "See how adoptable  _you_ are."

Tony's eyebrows shot up, and he held up both hands. "And you were so approachable two seconds ago."

"I'm frustrated. The kid isn't lying. About any of it. Ridiculous little corn pone that he is."

"Which doesn't leave us with much to work on to find his partner," Steve said with a frown.

"Oh, I'll find her," K said. "I can track her down."

"Let Steve handle it," Logan said as he pulled her closer to him and let his voice drop lower. "If she wasn't using that name from someone else, we know her."

"She was a kid when we met her though," Steve said. "In the war."

"Oh. That … ugh," K said, rolling her eyes. "That makes it worse. Picking on an infant like that."

Clint tapped on the glass. "Yeah, hey, two things. One, Nat's not old enough to have been alive in the war. And two, stop calling me that."

K put her hands on her hips and turned his way. "How old do you think Mrs. Robinson looked? I'm trying to gauge things here …"

"In all seriousness, she was probably younger than you," Clint said. "Really."

"She absolutely was," K said. "But that doesn't answer my question. What do you think?"

"Twenty-five? Twenty-six?" Clint said.

"I'm not going to tell you how old I am," K said, "But just know you're  _wildly off_ on what someone looks like at any age. And if you think I'm around 30, and she's twenty fiveish … you're missing a few possibilities. How old do you think Captain America is? What about the rugged Wolverine over here?"

"Healing?" Scott offered to Logan low.

Logan tipped his head to the side before he looked up at Steve. "Or other things. Yeah."

"It's possible," Steve said, frowning. "And we know plenty of programs tried to make super soldier serums for years after the war …"

"So pick an option and run with it," K said. "But considering the curses and the whole … last name thing, I'm guessing you'd be wise to start in Russia."

"Some kind of Russian room," Scott put in. "That's what he said, right?"

"He also said he was too love drunk to pay attention to the  _words_ that were coming out of her mouth when she said anything about herself," K pointed out.

"Kinda makes me wish she'd come in without the mask," Tony said with a smirk.

"She'd eat you alive and spit out your bones," K said flatly. "And no, you wouldn't die happy."

"Hey, I'd like to think I'm a little better equipped than the circus boy in there for someone that high caliber…"

"Well you go ahead and think whatever you want," K said. "But I know your track record, so just … don't."

Tony held up both hands as Steve shook his head and stepped in. "Thanks, K - I'm going to start running down what I can find in Russia. If this is who we think it is, I'd like to get her out."

She narrowed her eyes and watched him for a moment. "I think we need to skip the sushi, and you need to fill me in on this one."

Steve shot a look toward Logan, who simply tipped his head, and Steve let out a breath. "Alright."

"We'll talk about it upstairs," Logan said, carefully putting his arm around K before he smirked at Scott and let Steve lead the way.


	13. Happy Birthday!

It had taken Logan and Cap almost an hour to explain to K and Scott exactly how it was that they knew this Romanoff character, and through the whole story - their two reactions couldn't have been further apart.

Scott was entranced by the story, leaning forward in his seat and completely immersed.

K, on the other hand, had her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed as she heard the two men out on their story that came across as half old war buddies running a mission - and half bragging and one-upmanship.

"So that's it? This girl uses the name of an old acquaintance and you're worried that what …"

"Hydra was using her," Steve explained. "She was an innocent little girl."

"That … was hanging out with a Russian trainer … okay, sure. Why not?" K said, shrugging. "Are you sure that this isn't an across the board name that they use on operatives just to keep a mystique about the name?"

"That is entirely possible too," Steve admitted. "But … the only way to know is if we can actually find her. Talk to her. And maybe get her out of whatever mess she's landed herself in."

K looked toward Logan, who looked perfectly on board for that plan, and after she drew in a deep breath, she held it for a moment and then nodded. "Okay. If it's that important to you, if I run into her when I'm not with you … I won't kill her."

"Why woudn't you be with us?" Logan asked, arching one eyebrow her way. He hadn't overlooked the way she'd curled into him when they arrived - but he wasn't taking it for granted that this might not be a longterm situation if she decided to bolt.

She gestured around them. "I was here a few weeks ago alone … and that was when I ran into her. Seems likely that it'd happen when I'm not with you."

Logan had to concede to that, tipping his head her way without further argument.

"So the plan now … is what?" Scott asked - unsure if this discussion meant that Logan or K might go with Steve to go searching for this spy … or … what?

"We go back to Westchester," Logan said. "You can finish the school year anyhow. You  _did_ say you wanted to graduate, right?"

"Well … yeah. But really, most of my time has been focused on other things …"

"You're still doing the basic high school requirements too," K agreed. "It'd be stupid for you to throw that away so close to ending this year …"

"Okay, I'm not arguing that … I just didn't know …" Scott stopped and rubbed the back of his neck before gesturing openly. "... I thought you might want to go hunting with Captain America."

"Nah," Logan said, waving a hand. "Cap can handle that on 'is own if he wants to. She attacked an Avenger after all. If she comes back, I'll track her down."

"Or I will," K said. "At least she knows I'll hit her if I have to. You'd probably go all … squishy."

Logan turned her way and growled low, though there was no real threat to it by the way the light was dancing in his eyes - and the growl had K outright grinning at him.

"Al-right then …." Steve said, taking a step back. "I'll keep you in the loop on all of it. If the Department makes a move or if we get a solid lead on Romanoff. But in the meantime … how about we go hit that sushi bar you were talking about? We still have reason to celebrate a little bit."

* * *

In spite of all the progress that the Avengers had made in stopping the Department - and the great mood that Logan and K were in - Scott couldn't help but get a bit melancholic as the end of June came around.

It wasn't something that he wanted to talk about necessarily, but it was still a dark cloud that was hanging over his head. He was  _incredibly grateful_ that Logan had adopted him - and that both of them had more or less adopted K into their little family … but that didn't erase the fact that he missed the old traditions that his biological family used to take part in for birthdays. And this was a big deal for him, being with family for a birthday for the first time in … well. A long time.

Scott couldn't help but feel a little silly, missing some of those little things that his mother in particular used to do. His dad was gone more often than not, so birthdays were often just Scott, Alex, and their mother. But he was missing all of them as he got moving that morning - thinking about how she'd kick off the day with a wild berry shortcake, complete with a candle stuck into the whipped cream- special since she always seemed to save the last of the berries that they'd picked the previous summer  _just_ for his birthday. It was silly, but it always felt like a surprise even when she managed to do it - every. Single. Year.

Scott rubbed his eyes - his glasses next to him on the bedstand - and let out a breath. He needed to get moving before someone thought there was something  _wrong_.

He headed down the stairs at Westchester, adjusting the collar on the flannel shirt pulled over his white tee shirt, then stopped dead in his tracks when he saw K cooking up breakfast with something that looked … familiar.

"Hey, Caramel Mocha," K said in a cheerful tone. "Grab a plate - some coffee … and oh … Happy Birthday." She popped up on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Just something I like to do for birthdays and holidays. Hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all," Scott promised, still almost dazed as he got himself a cup of coffee before K pushed a plate of red berry covered crepes his way, obviously entirely oblivious to what he'd been missing, but managing to hit the mark all the same. "Are these … what are these?" he asked, frowning at the pile of jam.

"Lingonberries," she said. "Scandinavian … though they grow in the northern parts of North America too … mostly where Scandinavians have roamed wild …"

Scott made his way over to the table, smirking lightly to himself. He knew exactly what they were, of course. They grew wild in Alaska … but of course … they didn't see any in the woods until late summer. It wasn't exactly wild strawberries, or salmonberries … but they were still one of the things that made it into the mix. "Yeah," he said quietly. "We had these in Alaska."

He couldn't believe how much he had missed this as he dug into the crepes. It was a totally different tradition than what he was used to, obviously, but… he hadn't realized how much he had been holding his breath for this birthday in particular. The first time he could compare.

He didn't want to make it seem like he was ungrateful, that he was looking back. It was just… he couldn't erase the memories of what he used to have either. What he had now was amazing; he didn't want to discount it at all. But there was something about berries and sweets on his birthday… it was like being wrapped in a warm blanket, somehow. He didn't know how to explain it.

Of course, he didn't actually  _say_ any of that. He barely knew how to articulate it in his own thoughts. But he couldn't stop grinning, either.

K brought him out of his thoughts when she sat down with her own plate across from him, and he couldn't stop the genuinely broad smile he gave her. "Thanks."

"Couldn't let the day just pass, could I?"

"Guess not," Scott said, his smirk betraying his pleasure all the same.

Scott was still in a good mood when Logan came down - and his mood only improved watching K smile Logan's way as she served up some crepes. It was obvious to see that the two of them were getting along better and better, and Scott couldn't help but think that it would be nice …

Well, maybe some other birthday. Down the line.

For the moment, he was just glad that K was back at the school, that he was starting to get a handle on his powers - and that it sounded like the department was backing off.

"Talked to Harry yesterday," Logan said as he poured his coffee. "Looks like we're cleared to get started whenever we get up to Alberta."

"Great; when were you thinking we'd head out?" Scott asked, in such a good mood that he didn't check his excitement in the least.

"I thought we'd get a ride that way right after the fourth. Heard it might be a big deal with a few of them in town …" Logan smirked to himself. "And … someone will need a drinking buddy that night that can keep up."

Scott blinked for a second and then couldn't stop his smirk. "Right. I didn't think about that," he said. It was still a little odd, getting used to the fact that his adopted dad was drinking buddies with Captain America. And he hadn't really considered the logistics of how that would work either.

"He said they weren't going to be part of the public celebrations this year," K said as she made her way over to the two of them. "Something about wanting a day off for a change. Seeing as he's getting so  _old._ "

"That and isn't he looking for that assassin?" Scott pointed out.

"He's got a few connections in SHIELD from the war looking deeper," Logan said. "This is a low-key thing. If it's who we think it is? She'll disappear if she knows someone's lookin'."

Scott nodded at that. "Well, I'll let the professor know we're leaving next week, then."

"Find out when we need to be back for you to keep going," K said. "I know you want to …"

Scott nodded at that. "Yeah, I want to keep up the momentum."

"We'll probably meet up with Cap in a couple days … spend some time …"

"Oh no," Scott said dryly. "Sounds boring."

"I don't know," K sang out as she stirred her coffee. "You'll be hanging out with a guy that's facing retirement age …" She paused and couldn't help but glance at Logan. "Well. Another one."

"Can you really count the time he wasn't even  _around_?" Scott argued. "I don't think that should count."

"Well," she said, tipping her head and smirking a little wider. "How long was he 'out of it'?"

"Thirty years," Scott said. "I don't think - I mean, if I missed a few decades out of my life, I wouldn't want you saying I was turning forty-six now."

"Oooh, well. Then that makes him what … thirty... "

"Thirty-two," Scott said. "More or less. I know SHIELD hasn't released when  _exactly_ they found him…"

Logan smirked at that. "Close enough, I'm sure."

Scott shrugged down at his mug. "I mean… it's…" He let out a breath. "I don't know. Not the same if you weren't  _there_ for those years, I guess."

"No, you're right," Logan agreed. "He just thinks like someone from that time. Easy to forget about those missing years."

"Breakfast okay with you?" K asked. "I can get some more for you if you liked it."

Scott glanced up. "Yeah," he said, some of his earlier good humor coming back. "Do we have any strawberries too?"

"I found a few handfuls on my hike yesterday. Wild ones though, so they're tiny. But they're in the fridge if you want them."

"That's perfect," Scott said, grinning even wider. "That's…" He paused and glanced at K. "It's a kind of tradition, I guess. From when I was a kid. It sounds weird, I know…"

She paused and smiled a little warmer at him. "No, that's … I'm glad to hear it. We did the same thing, only with thimbleberries mixed in. Had to fight the bears for them …"

"Alex and I used to get those too," Scott agreed.

"Oh, well then … we'll have to head back to my cabin when the season hits," she said with a troublemaking smile. "If we're lucky to get enough, I'll make a little batch of jam."

"Fighting the bears for jam. Sounds like a good family outing," Scott said with a crooked smile.

"Doesn't it though?" she agreed as she got up and snatched his plate. "Get your berries, birthday boy." She was sure to give him another kiss on the cheek. "You got a few more coming right? Better than spankings anyhow."

"Yeah, I'd rather skip that," Scott said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm not pinching you to grow an inch. You're already taller than everyone else. Punk."

"Don't know if you've heard Dad mention it, but… it's not that hard," Scott said, the crooked smile only getting wider.

She couldn't help but laugh at that. "Yeah, yeah. I've heard. I'll keep my reigning title as shortest."

Scott smiled a little wider as he headed to the fridge to get the berries that were exactly where K had said they would be. It might have been a small thing, but it had Scott honestly in the best mood he'd been on a birthday morning since he was ten years old.

…..

The three of them headed in to the City two days before Cap's birthday - just because the crowds were gathering for the fourth of July fireworks shows that were going on all weekend long. Traffic was crazy already - part of the reason being Friday  _anyhow._

And when they got into the great room of the Mansion - which was freshly upgraded with new security - Cap of course came to greet them with a tired sort of smile.

"It's been a long week, guys," he said, shaking his head. "All the stuff I have to do is tonight and tomorrow … but I'm just looking forward to a day off."

He led them deeper into the mansion - and of course, had to ask: "So … I know Tony set aside three rooms for you guys but ... "

"Two's fine," K said, handling it for both of the boys and drawing the line in the sand, which just had Scott smirking and not even bothering to hide it.

Steve grinned back at them, obviously not having missed Scott's reaction. "Good. That  _should_ simplify things then."

"I sure as hell hope he doesn't try anything," K chuckled. "Though… it might be kind of funny …"

"Funny to who, the coroner?" Scott muttered under his breath with a serious smirk.

"Yes," she said, smirking at him. "Yes. He needs a laugh now and again too … and what better way than to start off the day with 'how the hell did that get into THERE'?"

Logan broke up the little snickers and jokes when he pulled her closer and put his arm around her shoulders as Steve led them over to where he was spending most of his down time - which, surprisingly was actually down time. The baseball game was on the television, and the curtains were drawn closed.

"This close to the big holiday, I like to close them out," Steve explained when he dropped into his seat. "I've got some time to breathe-"

"Before you need to squeeze into that pretty blue suit," K teased as they stepped all the way into the room, and she slowed to a stop, frowning at the other blonde in the room. "I didn't think you'd actually adopt him, Cap."

The young man looked up when he heard it, and Clint waved at K in one short movement of his hand. "Oh. Hi. Fancy seeing you again. Did I do something to call down the behavior enforcer?" he asked.

"Oh, is that what I am?" K asked, following along when Logan gave her a little look. "Yeah, I'm sure that's the title Steve dreamed up."

"Ah, no, actually, he said you were the one to validate I was telling the truth, so thanks for that - but you also almost killed my girl, so…"

"That wasn't a mistake, I hope," K said. "There was no reason to not kill her, as far as I was concerned."

"Avengers rules notwithstanding," Tony said - and K didn't miss that he was sitting on the opposite side of the room from Clint. It was clear in his body language that he didn't like the idea of letting the young man roam the tower, even with what was clearly a security anklet around one foot

She leaned into Logan as she settled in, looking over her shoulder at Tony. "I'm not an Avenger? So it's not a conflict, tall, Stark, and grumpy. That's really not a good look on you."

"Steve and Pym outvoted me on letting out the guy who tried -  _multiple times_ \- to shoot me dead," Tony said. "How would you feel?"

She looked between Tony and Clint, then shrugged. "I've had the same people try to kill me a lot. I thought that's just how people are."

Tony shrugged as he leaned further back in the couch, though he didn't look happy about it. "Yeah, but did you invite them for dinner after?"

She bit her lip as she thought it over. "I've … had to have dinner with them? I think."

That was about the time that Jan arrived with Thor - who was clearly playing gopher for her with the snacks for the get-together. And when she saw Tony's look, she rolled her eyes. "Are you still doing that? Hank's right - we  _should_ be in the business of making people better and helping them. So just - stop that. It's not a good look."

"You're going to get wrinkles, Mr. Stark," K said. "I'm concerned."

Tony finally relaxed a little at that - if only to shoot her a little smirk. "Might not find me as devilishly handsome then?"

She met his gaze and nodded seriously. "It's a problem."

"I can just… leave," Clint offered, thumbing over his shoulder at the door.

"No, you're stuck," Jan said. "If we have to listen to it, so do you."

"It would all stop so quickly if he'd man up and  _ask that girl out_ ," K said, holding Tony's gaze.

"That's what  _I've_ been saying," Jan said with a sigh.

"Oh no," Tony said, leveling a finger her way. "No, because you've  _also_ been using me to make Hank jealous, so we're not playing this game."

"Tony, I'm here for a few days," K said, smirking wickedly. "I'm sure I can find a little time to corner her and let her know you want to kiss every one of her freckles."

"She wasn't too happy when you went out with K," Logan added. "But … maybe that was the point."

K turned toward Logan with a falsely scandalized expression. "Sweetheart, are you saying that Jan's not the only one trying to make someone jealous?"

"I'm sayin' he knows it worked on Hank …"

"Okay, I'm glad I stayed," Clint said as Tony just gaped at Logan for a second.

"No, no - see, no, whatever this is?" Tony gestured between the group. "This groupthink? It's gotta stop."

"Pretty sure you'd be outnumbered again, Tony," Steve chuckled.

"Typical," Tony muttered to the ceiling.

"Awwww, come on," K laughed before she kissed Logan's cheek. "Jan and I will just leave you boys to your own devices. Nothing bad can come of that, right?" She got to her feet and headed toward her. "Oh, what-ever shall we do?"

"If we pick up Pepper, we could have an even bigger girls night," Jan laughed.

K stopped near Tony and put a hand on his wrist. "You do know this is a holiday weekend, right? She absolutely has to get her federal holiday off. So. I'll let her know you're all set with the boys here."

"Now, wait - that's not -  _Jan,_ " Tony said as he got to his feet and caught K's wrist. "Are you kidding me with this?"

"Why would we joke about that?" K asked, twisting her wrist from him and then reaching up to pat his cheek.

"You don't have nearly enough girls here as it is, Tony," Jan said, shrugging her shoulders up. "I need girl time. And they're both girls. That's all."

"Yeah, you know, I was expecting more girls here with the rep Tony Stark has," Clint said low to Steve, who was sitting closest.

"They don't stay long," Steve said offhandedly with a little wave.

"Shame," Clint said, leaning back in his seat.

"Not really," Jan said. "One walk of shame is just as ugly as the next."

"Then I guess he needs to pick girls that know how to strut," K said. "Good luck with that."

Jan giggled at that and looped her arm through K's. "Bye, guys!" she called out over her shoulder, leaving one mystified Tony - and the rest of the group highly entertained.

It wasn't even any time for him to really react before he could hear K - just down the hall being very clear and concise as she raised her voice slightly. "Oh! There you are, Miss Potts! Just the pretty, freckle faced redhead I was looking for!"

Tony let out a frustrated noise before he was on his feet and headed out the door, swearing up a blue streak before he got there. "Ask her to stop one assassination and she's trying to kill me herself," he was saying the whole way over.

But that was exactly what had Logan laughing hysterically by the time Tony hit the door. "Oh, he's so far out of his depth," Logan was saying as he tried to get a hold of himself. Not that Steve was far behind him at all, already trying to stop the tears as he cracked up.

"This is shaping up to be a great birthday weekend," Steve said between laughs. "Oh, I'm so glad you guys found her."

"She found us," Scott said, barely keeping it together himself - though he was trying to. "More or less… she was my boss."

"Then you get the credit for finding her," Steve pointed out.

"I'll take it," Scott said, smiling a little wider now.

Steve was finally getting a hold of himself, though Logan was a little behind him still - obviously having  _needed_ the laugh, too. "So, Scott," Steve said. "What did you end up doing for your sweet sixteen?"

Scott took a moment to blink away his surprise that Steve even knew his birthday before he grinned. "Nothing much," he admitted, then allowed his excitement to show as he leaned forward. "But we're headed up to Alberta later so I can get my pilot's license."

"That's what Logan was telling me," Steve said, looking pleased. "I'll be giving the three of you the ride up." He smiled a little crookedly. "On my way through, anyhow."

"Still looking for that girl?" Scott asked, honestly curious. "Or is this about the department?"

"Yes and no," Steve said. "But I have a few things to get done in Alaska - unrelated."

"What's going on in Alaska?" Scott asked, one eyebrow raised over his glasses.

"Military base that I guess needed a little boost in morale," Steve said before he rested his hand at the side of his neck. "Part of the job that doesn't get old. Even if it is a little cheesy nowadays."

"I didn't know you still did that," Scott said. "I mean, I've seen the old reels…"

Steve let out a breath of a laugh. "Yeah, it's not like the old reels. I just go in and spend some time with them. Visit anyone that's stuck in the medical bay, try to avoid the brass as much as humanly possible …"

"That's great," Scott said, unable to hide his honest grin. "That's - that's really great. I'm sure the soldiers love it."

"If they don't they're getting a good laugh over it once I leave," Steve said.

Scott shook his head. "No… no, I grew up around Air Force pilots. Everyone I knew when I was a kid - everyone I talked to would have given anything to get to talk to Captain America," he said, though he looked red-faced.

Steve couldn't help but smile at that. "Well … then I guess I'll keep doing it. They've already given enough already." He took a moment, just looking thoughtful as he weighed it out before he glanced at the clock and swore half under his breath. "Alright. I gotta get moving. Fireworks tonight. You can see them from here, I'm sure. I'll see you in the morning, right? You're not sneaking out …" Steve gave Scott a little smile as he headed toward the door. "I'm sure K and Jan will have Tony squirming in no time."

"That is normal around here as it is," Thor pointed out with a lazy smile. "Entertaining, yes, but normal."

The group half settled in to watch the game, even relaxing into their seats to watch quietly when there was  _another_ commotion in the hall that carried down to where they were. Steve was leaving … and the girls were dressed up - and insisting that Tony  _move_ so they could go … with Steve.

"So, does she do this every time she comes over?" Clint asked over the sound of the commotion. "I'm new here; I wouldn't know."

"Screw with Stark's head?" Logan asked with a smirk. "Pretty much. They went out a couple times - he pushed too fast, so … I guess this is what he gets."

"Well that explains everything," Clint agreed before he turned a grin Scott's way. "And hey - happy birthday. Kinda rough sharing the week with the star-spangled guy who gets all the attention, right? So, I dunno, do something fun. Sixteen's a big one, right?"

Scott nodded, still not quite sure what to make of Clint. "Yeah, we've got plans."

"Good," Clint said, turning to head down the opposite hall. "Have fun watching the show!"

Scott shook his head at that, though he didn't really get to question it too much when the argument further down the hall got a little louder.

"You're  _not_ going to screw with my assistant," Tony was saying, more to K than to Jan.

"It's a simple equation," K said calmly, though she'd been sure to get Pepper between her and Jan so she  _could_ play interference. "Obviously, Steve needs a lovely escort. And it's his  _birthday_ this weekend … so he gets three. Don't be so jealous. Green is terrible on you."

"It's just fireworks, Tony," Pepper said. "And they're right. It is a weekend off. I'm sure you'll live. Jarvis will make sure you do."

"But … it  _is_ a public fireworks show, and I'm sure that if  _two_ Avengers show …  _three_ would be good too," Jan said. "But only if you get that horrible expression off your face."

Tony looked between the three of them for a moment, and looked slightly more relaxed for just a moment before he nodded to himself and let his shoulders relax. "Fine. I'll go too."

"But," Jan said, holding up her hand. "I'm married, so I'm going stag."

"And I'm your assistant - but with no desire to commit career suicide, so … I'll just stay by Steve," Pepper said.

"And No. Just … no," K said. "Cap gets all the girls. Live with it," K said as she and Pepper both made sure to stand on either side of Steve, who was trying hard not to laugh. "You know … that and I know he won't try to play a game of grabass with me. So."

"Oh, come on," Tony said flatly.

K turned toward Pepper, who absolutely wasn't going to budge on throwing Tony a bone. "I already told you. I'm not committing career suicide. No. Just no."

"But it's just fireworks," K said to her, giving her a far more significant look.

"Then you take pity on him," Pepper said, not missing a beat.

K sighed and looked between the group - though Steve was no help at  _all_ with the completely amused expression he was wearing. Finally, she reached over and took Tony's arm, though she didn't let go of Steve either. " _Just_ until you find some bimbo at the party."

"What if I don't want to pick up a bimbo?" Tony shot back.

"Then I guess it's a good thing the girl you want is  _coming with us,_ " K replied, which had Steve grinning and Tony smirking as he nodded along.

With a little wave Scott's way, the little group headed out. Which left him the chance to head down to his room to settle in.

Which was where he found that Steve wasn't the only one that had remembered his birthday. Jan had been sure to leave him a few packages - simply but neatly wrapped with a little card on top that held her neat, upright writing: 'Happy Sweet Sixteen to a sweet kid. Hope it's the start of a great year for you and your  _family_.'

The bottom of the note held a handful of x's and o's, a little heart and her name looped up beautifully.

Scott couldn't stop the grin when he saw that Jan had gotten him a few more shirts and jeans - things he would actually  _like_. He wondered if that would be a long running joke, the fact that Jan knew better than Tony what a kid his age would  _actually_ wear. But he appreciated it all the same.

It was a little weird, getting birthday presents from the Avengers. But he also couldn't stop grinning at Jan's message, either. He was glad to have her on his side - especially seeing how well she and K got along.

Though it was the present from Steve - that he absolutely had  _not_ been expecting - that had him shocked the most: a headset for his piloting lessons, with stars printed on the sides.

It was absolutely perfect, and it was from Captain America, and Scott was sure that half the kids he had grown up with before the crash would have given anything for something like that.

So, yeah, he'd put up with the weird drama of coming to the tower if it meant the Avengers got to be part of his growing family. What other kid could say that, after all?


	14. Summer Vacation

The professor had offered up the use of the property - until of course, he heard that the available lawn simply wasn't long enough for the  _other_  plane to land that Scott would be learning in.

But that only had Scott grinning wider at the idea of getting to fly the old warbird as well as a smaller private plane. What he wasn't expecting was the amount of reading that was going to go into his flight education.

He knew he'd have to do a lot of reading - but this … was so much more than he'd anticipated. And Scott  _loved_ it. Every bit of it. The fact that there was practically a whole new language to learn when it came to the radio calls had him grinning. Particularly since he knew most of it already from listening to his father way back home in Alaska.

Honestly - a lot of what his father had taught him had stuck, and it was fast-tracking a lot of the process. The fact that he naturally tried to think about what he wanted to say before he spoke did him wonders when it came to learning how to handle the radio, and he was meticulous about keeping track of the weather conditions, too.

But for as much fun that part of the prep work was - the hands-on stuff was really what got Scott going. Knowing exactly how the plane worked and what can go wrong - how to compensate for it if it did … how to fix it yourself …

It wasn't going to be something that was said and done in weeks … but it was a solid start. Of course, it was somehow much better - and much worse - when they finally got caught up with Harry Tabeshaw in north-western Alberta.

As Scott had expected, Harry greeted them with a broad smile and open arms, quick to pull Logan into a bear hug, laughing all the while. Scott smirked at K and tipped his head for her to go along too, though when Harry realized that there was a woman with them, he stopped and let Logan go. "You didn't say you had company," Harry said, his smile a little more troublemaking.

"Harry, this is K," Logan said, gesturing toward her with a smirk.

She waved the tips of her fingers at him with an almost understated 'hi' that had both men grinning at her. "Does Heather know about her?" Harry asked, though he hadn't even tried to lower his voice.

Logan stopped and looked over to Scott for a moment - only then really realizing that he hadn't checked in with Heather since … "No," Logan said. "I've been a little caught up, didn't … really reach out. In a while."

"Oh, believe me, I know," Harry said. "She caught me on my way out. I know all about how much you haven't told anyone - and in how long. Hanging out with  _Avengers …_ "

"Oh, knock it off and get the kid started on his flight training."

"Sure," Harry said, laughing outright. "Ready to fly, Slim?"

"You bet," Scott said as he headed for him, though he paused when he saw the little high-wing plane. "Is that big enough for all four of us?"

"No," Harry admitted. "But it's big enough for us guys … while the girls get acquainted."

Logan let his shoulders drop as he turned toward Harry again. "Where is she?"

"In the cabin. Waiting." Harry let the smile fall a little, but Logan shook his head and blew out his breath.

"You and Scott can start the preflight," Logan said. "I better introduce Heather before we go."

And while Logan did in fact turn off with K, Scott didn't exactly have his heart in the flight lessons anymore, not with this latest twist. He hadn't even thought about Heather - and he knew there was a story there with Logan… He had  _just_ started to feel a little more settled, stopped worrying about Tony Stark and now this?

No way was he going to be anywhere but where he could see Logan and K. He knew he'd be too preoccupied otherwise.

Thankfully, it seemed like Harry was of the same mindset, because Scott really didn't have to say anything before both of them followed Logan and K to see what the damage would be.

Logan made his way over to K, and put his arm around her back, his hand at her waist as he gently started them toward the cabin not far off the flat, short grass runway. K simply turned her head his way, frowning slightly. "Is this a jealous ex?" she asked, which earned her a somewhat confused response from him.

"No, not …  _no_ ," Logan said, shaking his head before he let out a sigh. "I promise I'll explain everything tonight. But for now, just know she's a good friend. And she  _frets_."

K frowned a little herself at that and tipped her head to the side. "She frets, but you didn't bother letting her know you were okay…"

"Oh, shut up," he grumbled. "I already promised to explain later. Don't make this harder than it is."

At that, K planted her feet and refused to take another step forward. "She's going to ask what I am to you. How about you get your story straight with me  _before_ she starts in since I can tell from here you aren't going to try to lie." She tipped her chin back toward the plane. "And I have the sinking feeling that you're just going to ditch me with her so you don't  _have_ to answer anything."

Logan looked almost deflated as he shook his head, but before he could answer her, Heather stepped out.

"You  _are_ alive," Heather called out as K looked clearly unhappy about being stuck in the middle like this. "Yet you didn't tell me as much in months - and instead you reach out to  _Harry Tabeshaw_."

As Logan took a few steps forward, he gently put his hand out toward K and she seamlessly turned, pasting on a pleasant expression as she did so, taking a step just as Logan's hand touched her shoulder. "Didn't realize you'd still be concerned."

"Logan - the Department pulled out all the stops, Mac was  _sick_  … and not a word from you," Heather said, looking positively genuine as she grinned at him - flat out ignoring K and the expression of disbelief she was giving Logan as they reached the little strawberry blonde. "Who's this?" she asked after she'd rushed forward to give him a hug.

Logan paused just long enough for K to step forward and offer her hand. "Kayleigh," she answered for him. "Hi."

Heather looked taken off guard for just a moment before she took K's hand and shook it - though it took her a moment too long to put the smile back into place. And K wasn't the only one that caught it.

Harry elbowed Scott and kept his hands folded in front of him as they watched the two women size each other up.

"Great, so the three of us can spend a little time while Harry gives Scott his lesson," Heather said, nodding to herself, but K was the one to correct her.

"Logan had promised Scott that he'd be with him while he flew," she said. "I'm not about to try to make him break a promise to Scott."

For just an instant Heather paused, and before anyone could intervene, she was quickly making up time. "Oh, I hadn't realized that was the arrangement!"

Logan stopped at that and looked between the two women, smelling trouble immediately. "Yes you did," he said. "I had told you that before." But Logan suddenly wasn't sure he wanted to leave the two of them alone especially this far from anyone else while the guys headed up to fly.

"It must have slipped my mind then," Heather said, smiling at the three men. "We can talk later. Have fun!"

K turned her head to meet Logan's gaze just before he leaned over to steal a kiss,that she surprised him with and drew out a bit longer than he'd expected. He met her gaze for just a moment, though he couldn't quite say anything to her, even if he was sure that the look in K's eyes meant  _something_ was going to happen. "You sure this is alright?" Logan asked, clearly to K, even if it was Heather that answered with an enthusiastic 'yes'.

"We'll be here," K said. "Whether or not that means you'll be back …"

Logan gave her a very unamused look and a little growl. "I'll be back before you know it."

K waved the tips of her fingers at them and the guys headed out, leaving the two women alone several hundred miles from anyone and anything.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Scott asked Logan as they approached the little plane.

"Yeah, bound to happen sooner or later," Logan said. "Woulda been nice to know what I was walkin' into though."

"Hey, don't look at me," Harry said. "She hopped on last night when I headed here, I didn't have a way to warn you that would have helped at all."

"It's fine," Logan said as he climbed into the back of the plane while Scott and Harry did the preflight checklist.

Scott was a little nervous, but he was pretty sure that K wasn't going to start up anything dangerous with Heather.

To his surprise, Harry didn't do the take off, and instead simply started walking Scott through it as they sat at the end of the runway, looking down it to taxi. His heart was pounding as the engines on the little high-wing fired up, and he couldn't stop the smile that came with the step by step process while they got into a higher gear. The plane was shaking from the wash coming off of the propeller, and on Harry's direction, he took the brakes off and began to adjust the flaps and ailerons on the wings so they could get the speed they needed to take off… a slight rudder adjustment sent the back of the plane fishtailing - but only for an instant before he corrected. Twenty miles an hour became forty … and the plane leveled out on the airstrip - the tail now level with the nose.

In a few more moments, they were moving out at nearly sixty, and just before they hit seventy, the flaps went down and a second later, the lift was easy to feel as the wheels left the ground.

He glanced out the window and looked down as the trees seemed to sink below the edge of the window … and very quickly, that magical, surreal feeling that he'd missed so much from his childhood popped up and took his breath away. It was an instant that happened in the blink of an eye when very suddenly, what is real and concrete suddenly seemed far away and plastic, as if he was looking down at a diorama rather than the sweeping forests and plains of Alberta.

The higher they went, the more natural it felt to be flying, to be in the air high above the trees and buildings, and for the first time in a number of years, Scott let out a breath he had no idea he'd been holding. His shoulders relaxed, his mind cleared, and everything - in spite of the complexities of the instrument panel ahead of him - everything became very simple.

For the next two hours, Scott flew, taking Harry's navigation cues, and even acing his first stall with a cool confidence that could only be genetic. It was clear to Harry and Logan anyhow that Scott was made for this. He actually got  _more_ focused and calm when the plane's engine was off in the stall, and he handled the glide and dive beautifully, swooping up out of the stall as if he'd done it a hundred times before.

The only tell that it had made him nervous was the cleansing breath  _after_ the fact when he had them under power again and flying off in a sweeping arc with one wingtip down.

When it finally came time to land, Harry guided him again - his hands on his yolk, and his feet ghosting the pedals as he walked Scott through the landing. His voice never changed as he talked him through it … perfectly even and composed … calm and collected, and only once just before they touched down did Harry pull the nose up just a touch more than Scott had it lined up for.

It was a smooth landing … with only one little hop, and when they finally killed the engine, Scott let out a breath of a laugh that tacked itself onto a massive grin that he wouldn't even consider stopping.

"Congratulations," Harry said with a smirk. "You just put on your first couple hours of flight time." He dropped his hand on Scott's shoulder heavily. "Not bad."

Scott was still grinning hard at Harry. "So, when do we go again?"

"Well you're up here for a few weeks anyhow, right?" Harry said. "We can go once or twice tomorrow if you want. Rack up some hours. You'll need to practice take offs and landings … a few touch and go's … lots more stalls …"

Scott grinned and nodded. "Sounds great," he agreed, still nowhere near close to being able to tone down the grin - not that he was trying that hard.

"Come on," Harry said. "We'll run through post flight, tie her down and call it a night."

Scott simply nodded at that, still grinning hard - and sure that he caught Logan smirking too.

When the three of them were more or less done with the plane for the night, they headed toward the cabin, where K was sitting outside, her head tipped back and leaned against the outside of the building, looking perfectly relaxed and smiling at them … but before she could even greet them, Heather came out … red cheeks and looking livid as she glared at Logan. "What kind of  _crap_ are you pulling with  _a teenager hanging around you_? Don't you know you can't just … It's not …" She threw her hands up and let out a sound of pure frustration.

"What are you  _talking about_?" Logan asked, but Heather didn't want to answer … not with Scott standing right there. So she did the only thing she could think of and dragged him into the cabin to get a few things off her chest.

"You look like you had a good time," K said to Scott, still smiling. "Did I hear a stall?"

Scott nodded, though his gaze was on the door Heather had just closed. "What… happened?"

"She wanted to know who I was, and she wanted to know  _what_ I was to you two." She shrugged. "So. I told her the bare bones and let her fill in the blanks as she saw fit."

Scott blinked at her and shook his head. "No… she wouldn't be that mad if you just told her the truth," he said slowly.

K leaned forward at that. "I did tell her the truth. She made some assumptions that should be pretty telling of what she thinks of Logan."

Scott frowned toward the door. "Well… I don't know," he said at last.

She smiled at him "I told her that we met on the west coast, that we travelled east together, and that we've been together - the three of us - ever since," K said. "She  _asked_ if we were just travelling and I said no. Then there were a bunch of questions about putting a label on it, which I shot down. She didn't like it."

Scott bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I mean, I guess it could look bad but did you tell her you met me first? Because that might help."

"I did," K said. "And then I asked  _her_ what the ties were between her husband and the Department. Since she knows so much about what their trouble is. That's a lot more pressing issue, I think, than if I'm sleeping with your Dad."

"Yeah, that's definitely more pressing," Scott said, though he paused and then gave her a little smirk. "What do you think - should I walk in and start calling you 'Mom' to make her feel better?"

K smirked and dipped her chin to her chest, though it didn't hide the smile that immediately followed. "I wouldn't do anything to make her feel better, personally," K said before she peeked up at him. "She can't seem to fathom how they'd try to use her to get to him. But … you do what you think is best … sweetheart."

Scott's smirk stretched a little wider at that. "It was just a suggestion," he said.

"I do thank you boys though," K said, turning toward Harry, who was outright grinning. "That was long enough of a time that I neatly turned her attempted interrogation into a real one."

"And does she know what the department is doing?"

"She knows more than she wanted to admit to," K said. "They are still trying - and they know that there is a connection with the Hudsons, even if the Hudsons don't think they'd abuse that tie."

"You told her how we ended up traveling together, right?" Scott said with a frown.

"In as vivid detail as I could manage," K agreed. "I was very explicit."

"Then I guess I don't get how someone could be in that much denial. I'm sixteen and they still tried to use me."

"Yeah, but you're a genius," K said. "Don't let it go to your head that you have common sense."

"I'm not a genius, K," he said, rolling his eyes, though she couldn't actually see that with the glasses on.

"I think you are, so just take the complement, okay?" She shrugged. "Besides … she's just been in there stewing for the last twenty minutes … and all she could come back to was the fact that I refused to tell her more about Logan. I stonewalled her and said she'd have to ask him. Not my business to say."

"Yeah, I still don't entirely understand Logan and Heather," he admitted, shaking his head. "She's easy to get along with when she's not playing interrogator, but…"

"Don't sweat it, Caramel Mocha," K said. "I asked Logan to give me something to go off of before I walked in there … so … I worked with what I had. Which was nothing."

Scott nodded. "Well, it could be worse," he said with a shrug. "He could still be interested."

"Good thing it's just sentimental," K said with a smirk. "One way, anyhow."

Scott shook his head at that, though he didn't really want to get into it, so he cleared his throat and straightened up. "Did you get to see any of the flight or were you talking to Heather the whole time?"

"I saw the end … nice little banking you did when you were coming around for the landing. Pretty sure I could see the smile from here."

Scott grinned. "I love flying," he told her. "Alex and I used to beg our dad to let us come on flights with him."

"It shows," she said, grinning back at him. "And it suits you."

"It sure does," Harry said. "Kid's a natural."

"So you're going to rack up a bunch of time, right?" K asked.

"Oh yeah," Scott said. "I want to go up again tomorrow."

"Great! You'll have both licenses before you know it," K told him.

Scott smirked and leaned forward slightly. "Driving test can't be harder than driving your truck away from the department, right?"

"Yeah, you're  _fine_ ," she said. "Has Logan shown you how to drive a stick shift?"

Scott shook his head. "Not yet. But to be fair, we've been pretty busy."

"We'll have to do that too," she said. "In the mud. Preferably."

The little conversation was interrupted when Logan stepped out and let out a deep breath before he turned toward the three of them and smirked. "Ready to burn some steaks, then?"

"Only if you're cooking," K replied, rolling with it easily. "Right, Scott? You've had a long day."

"Oh yeah.  _I've_ had a long day," Scott said with a smirk.

K got to her feet, and a moment later, Logan put his arm around her shoulders. "You're coming aren't you?" K said, looking first to Harry, and then to Heather.

"I feel like I should  _not_ , but it's too much to pass up," Harry chuckled.

Heather gave him a dry look, but fell into step next to him, and it was under an hour before Logan was cooking up steaks over an open fire with Harry. When the group sat down to eat together, Logan was a little surprised at how cheerfully affectionate K was.

She wasn't being too obvious, but the fact that she kept one hand on his leg just over his knee through most of dinner - and in plain sight of Heather - had him sidling closer to her and simply enjoying it - and returning the favor by keeping his arm loosely around her shoulders.

They were almost to their dessert when Logan realized exactly how quiet Heather had gotten, and it didn't miss his notice that she was almost pointedly  _not_ looking K's direction. But there wasn't much he could do about it. He was just getting lost in thought, trying to figure out the intricacies of the two women and what all had been said when K leaned a little closer and squeezed his leg, drawing his attention immediately just before she stole a kiss that wasn't entirely polite for all audiences.


	15. Licensed To ... Well ...

After the little dinner, Heather had more or less decided that she was just going to go back home to Mac as soon as she could get Harry to break away long enough to get her home. Which, she hated to do, but the more she had watched Logan … and his new …  _interest_ , the more she realized that it wasn't something she could or  _should_ try to interfere with. At least, not without crossing some lines. And though she certainly cared about Logan, and in her own way loved him, there was something dangerous about that idea that had absolutely nothing to do with his abilities.

She was staring at the phone in the cabin that would allow her to call out to Mac to come and get her if she needed to as the group shared breakfast together, which … she had to admit was an unexpected treat. She'd planned on whipping up something easy and simple for the group, but K had beaten her to it - and the spread that woman had managed was the best camp breakfast that Heather had ever had.

As soon as Scott had finished up, he was raring to go, though he sat as patiently as any sixteen year old boy could while he waited for the men to finish up. His foot was jiggling and he was sitting on his hands trying to be still and polite, but the little smile at the corner of his mouth wasn't backing of at all, only growing as every minute ticked by, and the second that Logan and Harry were done, Scott was ready to go.

"Don't you think we should wash the dishes for the girls first?" Harry said, his eyes twinkling as he looked over to Logan.

"I think you should go before you get hurt," K suggested. "The two of us can handle a few dishes."

"Doesn't seem quite fair," Harry insisted, grinning at her as she got to her feet.

"Since you feel that way, you can wash them tonight. And tomorrow … and every day we're all here," K shot back, which got a little protest from Harry, a laugh from Logan, and though Heather hated it, she too, couldn't help but at least smile at the expression on Harry's face.

Logan got up and gave K a kiss, winked at Heather - and then the three guys headed out, once again leaving the two women alone.

"I think I can just call to get my husband to come pick me up," Heather said.

"If you're going to call your husband, I think you should invite him to join us for dinner," K said. "I know I gave you a hard time yesterday, but you have to know, I'm looking out for mine. You should pay more attention to yours."

Heather looked shocked for just a moment, then bristled at her insinuation. "Logan … is like  _family_."

"Then why isn't your husband here with you?" K said, holding her gaze. "When was the last time Logan and Mac talked? Or saw each other?"

"It's … been a while," Heather admitted. "But it wasn't like that with Logan and I -"

"Maybe not for you, but it was for him," K said as gently as she could. "He left out of respect for what you and your husband have together. He doesn't want to get in the middle of that. YOu have to see that."

"I do! I ... " Heather's shoulders fell as she held K's gaze. "Alright, so maybe things got a little … emotional when he was with us," she finally admitted.

K nodded, smirking to herself. "He was in a very vulnerable position when he met you two," she said. "And I think he was very lucky to have the two of you, but he left for a reason. Give him the space he needs to process everything. It'll be better for everyone if you do."

Heather blew her breath out all in a woosh, the loose strand of hair in front of her eyes nearly sticking straight out at the force of it. "I just worry about him."

K smiled lightly at that. "I'm glad to hear it," she said. "But … I have to ask you, if you tell Mac that he has a woman with him … will he be able to keep his mouth shut on where he's going?"

"Yes, definitely. That section of the department is scrambling. They don't have the funding right now to pick him up unless he was a few blocks down from their main office."

K let out a breath of relief, her shoulders dropping at the news, and Heather of course, read it slightly the wrong way.

"You worry about him too," she said.

"I do," K admitted. "But Scott was with him when they shot Logan to high heaven. The kid is in danger, too."

Heather frowned at that and shook her head. "What do you mean, when he was shot to high heaven?"

K gawked at her for an instant before she took Heather by the hand and led her over to the table to sit down and fill her in on the finer details that Logan had glossed over. As it turned out, Heather had no idea they'd been so aggressive with him. She knew they were out to capture, but she didn't know they were using lethal force. And she was incredibly upset by the time they were done chatting.

"I'll call Mac. I'll open it up by saying he's got someone here. He'll be here before you know it. He's been wanting to show off his new suit anyhow."

K reached out and took a hold of her hand - her grip a little tighter than what was necessary, but K couldn't ignore the alarm bells going off in her head. "You can't tell him over the phone anything about Logan or Scott. Just tell him Harry had to head out and you need a ride."

"We  _haven't_ been telling the Department anything!" Heather defended, but that had K taking a more aggressive stance.

"I didn't say that you did - or that it happened purposely, but you'd be a fool to believe that they aren't tapping your phones and listening for mention of Logan or his voice. I want to see Logan and Mac together. For both of their benefits, but if I think for one second that the Department might catch wind of those boys being here …. I'm not having it, Heather. You can just park it and not talk to your husband until we leave if that's the case. Unlike Logan, I don't know you well enough to give a damn about if it sinks your marriage."

Heather looked angry for a moment, but after she thought it over, she nodded her head. "Okay. I'll tell him I'm stranded and that the trout are biting. That ought to get him to take a minute."

"Thank you," K said, genuinely relieved as she let Heather's arm go. She watched as the strawberry blonde made her way over to the phone, and unbeknownst to Heather, K listened in to the conversation. She was pleased to hear that Heather very carefully made no mention of anyone but Harry, even going so far to make it sound like she was disappointed in her luck - but as K suggested:

"The fish are biting, and it's just so pretty here …. Are you sure you can't take just a couple vacation days so I'm not just out here … alone … in the wilderness.  _Again._ "

There was a long pause as Heather and K shared a look, and after a few yes and no answers from Heather, she finally sent her love and hung up the phone - to grin at K. "He'll be here by dinnertime."

"Then we should probably catch some fish," K said, to which Heather heartily agreed.

The two women spent most of the morning at the river, and by the time the guys came in from the morning of flying - all in high spirits- they had a pretty good catch.

"I think you miscounted," Harry said when he saw that there was six fish laid out and cleaned.

"No," K said, without missing a beat. "Heather's fishing for two."

There was dead silence - not only from the guys, but the look of pure wide-eyed shock from Heather was enough to get her to stammer with no response.

Logan, however frowned at K and made his way over to steal a kiss. "It's not nice to give a gal a coronary," he said quietly.

"Not my fault you're misinterpreting," K defended.

"I don't misinterpret  _that_ ," Logan argued.

"Not the scent maybe … but my meaning? So misconstrued."

Logan pulled her closer, but tipped his head back to look at her more clearly. "The hell're you talkin' about?"

"Never you mind," she said before she pulled him into a long, involved kiss that honestly rerouted him entirely.

Scott was smirking to himself as he turned away from them, his chin to his chest, and working on helping prep the fish. Which … was something else he hadn't done in a long while either. He paused as he looked at the shining, still gasping fish… they weren't anything he'd seen in  _ages_ but they looked familiar all the same. They were maybe a foot long, silver with an almost iridescence to them that shifted as he moved them- and massive top fins that even with the red lenses, Scott could tell were something pretty to look at. "What kind of fish are these?" Scott asked - more to Heather and Harry since his Mom and Dad were still pretty involved.

"Grayling," Heather said. "It was one of those things we used to catch on vacation all the time back when Logan was with Mac and I. They're really tasty. Especially over charcoals.  _Which,_ we will do while you boys are on your afternoon flight training."

"That okay with you?" Logan asked K. "I wasn't expecting to have you just …." he glanced over at Heather and raised one eyebrow. "I wasn't planning on you makin' friendly with anyone."

"Lucky for you I am," she purred out low before she stole a long kiss that had Heather coughing and turning red as she pointedly looked another way. K glanced over at Scott, who looked like he was ready to break down laughing at any moment. She kissed the very end of Logan's nose and then turned away, sparing Heather for the moment, anyhow. "Have fun flying."

"We will," Scott promised, though he didn't miss the look that Logan was giving K - as if she had no business  _pulling a stunt_ like that.

Scott had no trouble relaxing after that, either. All the concerns he had at K dealing with Heather on her own with no support seemed to be a case of over-thinking. Besides … if it meant that K had Logan looking like  _that_ , and smirking and cracking jokes in the air with Harry and himself … then he was all for it.

The weather was still holding out for them, and they were getting some great updrafts to practice with. The half a dozen touch and go's that Harry had him doing - not to mention all of the approaches and stalls … it was all great practice, and he knew it. What was more, he was doing a lot of stuff that Scott was pretty sure was more military than civilian practice, which suited him just fine. He liked it that way. It was a tie to his father and all the Air Force guys that he knew as a kid.

But when the flying was done for the day, and the three of them made their way to the cabin at the treeline, the sight of a strange man had Scott stopping outright. He was tall and dark haired, and still in a uniform that Scott couldn't identify right off. His hand went to his glasses on instinct as his jaw set. No way was he going to let these creeps -

"Mac!" Logan called out with a laugh and a genuine smile on his face. "Who tipped you off?"

The newcomer turned, though the smile wasn't as automatic as it had been for Logan. "Heather said she was stranded - then I get here to find out you've got a woman with you?" Mac's smile warmed up considerably as the two of them approached each other, and what looked like the offer for a handshake shifted quickly as Mac pulled Logan into a bear hug that had both men chuckling.

For a little while, it was very clear that the two of them had a genuine fondness for each other, and they made their way toward the cabin with their arms around each other - though Logan was quick to wave Scott over and pull him into it too as he introduced Scott to Mac. "Heather tell you about my boy yet?" Logan asked, looking up at Mac - though talking to either of them would have had him looking up anyhow.

"Something you want to tell me about?" Mac teased with one eyebrow raised. "You get your memory back or what?"

"Nah," Logan said, shaking his head. "Couple people stateside pushed the paperwork through for me. Kid needed to get out of where he was."

"Must have if you were the better alternative," Mac teased - though it sounded like half tease, half serious.

"Coulda been worse. Coulda had you instead," Logan deadpanned right back.

"Oh, no one would have wanted that," Mac said, shaking his head seriously … for all of the time it took for the three of them to spot K walking toward the open fire where she and Heather had been cooking. "Which … by the way …" Mac lowered his voice and turned his back to the women as he gave Logan a completely troublemaking look. "Is  _she_ part of the adoption too?"

Logan stopped and gave him a dry look. "You're not funny."

"I'm just sayin' …" Mac smirked. "You know how to pick 'em."

"Shut up, Mac."

The guys made the short trip to where the ladies were settled in - and Scott almost did a double take when she saw that both K and Heather had a beer in their hands as they settled in on the log they were using for a bench. They seemed perfectly content - and Heather was more than a little bit tipsy, which K was clearly amused over. "Silly Canadians can't hold your liquor," K said, shaking her head at them as she tipped her bottle back.

"Hey now," Mac said, leveling a finger at her. "Don't start up horrible lies."

K gestured to Heather, and then to him. "Prove me wrong, Mr. Goes-On-Vacation-In-A-Uniform."

Mac's shoulders dropped and he shook his head slowly on his way to sit next to Heather. "I told you, I thought I was just rushing out to grab her."

"Even though she told you that it would be just the two of you … alone. Hundreds of miles from civilization," K said, looking at Mac like he was nuts. "Seriously. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Mac floundered for a moment before Heather tried to save face for him. "He's  _very_ dedicated to his job."

"Uh huh," K said, once again tipping the bottle back. "I'm just saying … you're missing a fine opportunity."

Logan couldn't help but smirk as he took a seat on K's other side, and Scott dropped down on the log next to Logan's.

"Hey," Mac said, frowning at her. "There's a kid here now - you can't just … talk like that."

"I'm just saying - either you're not paying attention to what's going on around you, or you think you're good looking enough to come out here in your uniform to pick her up … for personal …  _benefit_ ," K said, pointedly raising an eyebrow at Mac, who was obviously in shock.

"Oh," Heather giggled as she reached over to rest her hand over Mac's knee. "I think I'll pick door number two."

Which was as much of a shock to Mac as it was to Harry and Logan, who both looked at them as if they'd never heard language like that from the two of them. K was sure to elbow Heather  _hard_ , and a moment later, she pulled Mac into a deep, lingering kiss that had him surprised at first … but quickly melting into it and just …  _running with it._

And while the Hudsons were occupied, Harry shifted where he was sitting to attend to their dinner cooking over the hot coals - giving Scott a look before he started whistling randomly. Which was enough to get Mac to break the kiss and pull Heather onto his lap to just …wrap his arms around her waist and rest his chin on her shoulder to simply hold onto her.

The two of them were smiling to themselves, their eyes sparkling, and as soon as they were focused on  _each other_ it was plain to see how entirely head over heels they were about each other. And that in itself had Logan's eyes dancing as he looked perfectly pleased to see it.

Logan put his arm around K's shoulders and pulled her closer to give her a long, tended kiss on her temple that Scott was pretty sure contained a whispered out 'thank you'.

* * *

The Hudsons didn't stay long after that, and it wasn't until they were gone that Scott truly relaxed. It was interesting getting to meet Mac - and to see how he and Logan more or less got along. Even if it was crystal clear that Mac was much more stiff than Scott had expected out of him. And he was a bit short when he left with Heather, though Heather had warmed up to K substantially, even going so far as to hug her for a long while and kiss her cheek as they left.

Which left the four of them for most of the rest of the summer until the boys came back to find Steve sitting with K in the shade with a quinjet waiting to take them back to the States.

All three men were grinning as they made their way over to Steve and K - and Scott was in high spirits, though that only got better once they loaded into the quinjet and Captain America took the co-pilot chair.

"I know it's a little different than that hi-wing and the C-47, but … who knows? You might like it," Steve said, his eyes sparkling since he  _knew_ how much it was going to mean to Scott.

"Wait …  _really_?" Scott said quietly, his eyebrows scraping his hairline.

Steve smiled wider and nodded. "Yeah. Really. I'll walk you through it, but I think if you're as good as Logan says you are …"

Scott couldn't help the disbelieving sort of laugh that slipped past him as he nodded, and very reverently took the pilot's seat only to grin over at Steve as they started the starting procedures.

This had to be the best summer anyone had ever had.


	16. Father Figures

The summer break had been exactly what Scott needed, even if it hadn't been without its own complications. But flying with Logan… Scott hadn't had that much fun over a summer break since he was a kid and his mom had taken him and Alex to the beach for two weeks while his dad was on assignment.

He kept taking out his license every once in a while to look at it. Logan had taken him to get it done officially before they headed back to the school, and Scott couldn't stop glancing at it. He couldn't believe he was a pilot.

Just like his dad.

Just like  _both_ of his dads, really. Scott had definitely noticed some of the jargon flying back and forth between Harry and Logan. Logan knew what he was doing in a plane too, even if he wouldn't call himself a pilot.

He was trying not to compare; he really was. But Christopher Summers had been his father first, and as much as he appreciated Logan, that wasn't going to change. It was in his blood; it was something he'd grown up with - this idea of one day following his dad's footsteps.

But his father had never done what Logan was doing, dropping everything and putting Scott  _first_  and that meant more than he could articulate, too.

All of that combined had Scott in an excellent mood when they did get to Westchester and the institute, and the professor even commented on it after they'd had a solid session together- not only in the target range but in his mindscape.

"I see flying did you a world of good," he said, the smile wrinkling his eyes with genuine warmth.

Scott nodded, not even trying to hide the grin. "I love it," he said honestly.

"It shows," the professor agreed. He watched Scott for a long moment with that same smile before he leaned forward slightly. "Actually, Scott, I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you now that you're back."

"What do you need?" Scott asked.

The professor tipped his head slightly. "Well, as you know, I have been keeping an eye out for young mutants, children like you that I could help with control of their powers."

"You find someone else?" Scott asked, one eyebrow raised. He couldn't quite keep the interest out of his voice - for several reasons. He had been enjoying private lessons, but it would be nice to have someone his own age. And he also knew that this was one of the few places he'd seen so far that was  _friendly_ to mutants, and if someone else was struggling, he wanted to help them too.

Charles nodded. "A young man about your age," he said. He gave Scott a small smile. "I think it might be best if he spoke with an actual student of mine - especially since he has two concerned parents as well. I wonder if you could ease their minds more than I could on my own."

"Makes sense," Scott said with a slow nod. "I mean, we took some convincing too." He tipped his head to the side. "So, is he having a hard time too? What powers does he have - do you know?"

"I do not," Charles said. "I only know where he is and that he's been experiencing a few flares that he isn't controlling all the time."

Scott nodded. "Then, yeah, I'd be happy to talk to him," he said. "That sounds a lot like what I've been dealing with."

"Thank you, Scott," Charles said. "I really do think that you can help me convince them that I can help."

Scott nodded at that. "Let me just tell my dad we're headed out," he said, thumbing over his shoulder toward the yard, where he knew Logan and K were still doing a cursory check of the grounds to be sure nothing was amiss since they'd been gone.

Though when he did find them, they weren't actually checking anything but were back at the boathouse, and Scott couldn't stop his smirk at the time it took for Logan to answer the door when he knocked.

"Sorry, just - I was just letting you know the professor and I are headed out. You can … go back to what you were doing…"

"What are you up to?" K asked, making her way over to the door, looking a bit rumpled.

"The professor found someone else that's having power flares, and he asked if I'd come help him talk to the guy," Scott said. "I mean, might help to have proof that it works, right?"

"Not a bad idea," she agreed. "How about a testimony from a non-biased adult?"

"Oh, well, yeah, that would help too, but if you and Dad just want the day…" Scott said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Scott, we've had all kinds of time … what do you think we do while you're in class?" K asked frankly.

Scott smirked at that. "Okay, good point," he said. "You want to come, then?"

K turned to Logan and stole a kiss that took a few seconds longer than she'd intended. "Yes. I think so."

"Alright, well, I'm driving," Scott said, the smirk a little more obvious. "Meet you at the garage."

"Sounds good, see you in a few," she answered, slipping back into the boathouse.

"Your idea or his?" Logan asked.

"His," Scott admitted. "But I think it's a good idea."

Logan nodded at that. "Probably. All the same - keep your button on you."

"I will," Scott promised. "I don't go anywhere without it, really." He gave Logan a little grin and then headed to the garage, still in a good mood about being able to drive out as well by the time K and Charles got there too.

"You don't mind a third, do you, Charles?" K asked as she put a swipe of lipstick on.

Charles raised an eyebrow her way. "I don't mind - but I thought you and Logan would be spending the time together."

"I don't want to break him, and if you're talking to another family - might be good to have someone that's watched the progress from the outside, don't you think?"

Charles nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, that is true," he admitted, though he didn't say more than that, instead focusing on giving Scott a mental image of where they were headed as he drove.

It was mostly a quiet drive, then, until they actually arrived in town, where it seemed like there was more activity than usual, with several cars gathered at the sheriff's office.

"Wonder what's going on there," Scott said with a frown.

Charles was quiet for a moment before he let out a sigh. "It seems our young friend has found himself in some trouble," he said. "Scott, I wonder if you could speak to him - K and I will still talk to his parents in the meantime, but he may need someone with him as well."

"Right," Scott said with a nod. "Let me drop you both off first. If I pull into the sheriff's office, we're just going to draw attention."

"Good luck," K said.

"You too," Scott said, smiling her way as he put the car in park and slipped out of it.

He made his way to where most of the people were gathering, though he tried to be nondescript. Luckily, most people weren't going to look twice at a teenager looking curious anyway, but the closer Scott got, the more he was concerned for the kid they were supposed to be talking to.

From what Scott could hear, the only reason the steadily growing group of men -  _armed_ men, at that - hadn't already gone after this kid was the sheriff, who kept insisting that there had to be a fair trial.

Scott took one look at the crowd - and the fact that it seemed to be getting bigger - and knew that one sheriff probably wasn't going to be enough to hold these men off indefinitely.

Frowning hard, he slipped inside while the sheriff was occupied with the crowd and made his way back to the cells. Only one was occupied, so that was helpful in figuring out who he needed to talk to, and the boy inside it looked pretty miserable. He was maybe a year younger than Scott, with blond hair, and he looked to be trying hard to ignore the loud argument going on down the hall - though this far away, the actual words and threats weren't clear. It just sounded like muffled voices.

"You alright?" Scott asked as he stopped outside the cell to look it over. He was already sure that he could blast the door open if he had to - if the mob of men behind him decided they weren't going to let the sheriff stop them anymore.

"Oh, sure," he replied, arms crossed and looking sullen. "Just waiting around for this to clear off. Who are you, anyhow? You look too young to be a lawyer."

"My name's Scott," he said. "I was actually on my way to talk to your family, but - what happened?" He gestured around at the cell.

He let out a breath. "There are a lot of questions for you," he said. "Like how you know about me for one, or how you knew I was here … but it doesn't matter. I didn't do anything wrong. It was self defense after I was attacked."

"What was self-defense?" Scott asked, then held up a hand. "And don't worry; I'll believe you."

"I was out on a date and some jerks jumped us," he said, paused them raised his hand. "I'm Bobby, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Bobby," Scott said. "Let's get you out of here, huh?"

"Seriously. Are you some kind of junior lawyer or something?" Bobby asked.

Scott smirked at that. "No, sorry."

"Then what do you think you can do to get me out of here?" Bobby asked. "I'm under arrest, man."

"I heard," Scott said. "But you'll be worse than that if that mob gets in here, so let's go." He took a step back, sizing up the door. "You might want to stand back. I don't exactly have the focus on this yet."

"You don't have the focus on  _what_?"

Scott tapped the side of his glasses. "I can break the door down, but I don't want you caught in the blast," he explained.

"I don't know that will help," Bobby said. "Won't that just … put more heat on?"

"More heat than the mob trying to break in to get to you?" Scott asked. "How bad are you waiting for it to get?" He shook his head. "Trust me on this - you do  _not_ want them to catch up to you."

"I don't want to be a criminal!"

Scott let out a breath of frustration and looked over his shoulder. He could still hear the heated argument down the hall... "Alright, stand back," he said and took off his glasses, making sure to angle himself so even in the few seconds his eyes were open, he wasn't aiming at Bobby. And sure enough, the door went down easily… and part of the wall too.

Scott grimaced when he opened his eyes. "Sorry. Still getting the hang of that."

Bobby stared at him wide eyed, flinching with his arm raised over his head as a section of the ceiling came down in little chunks. "What … what was that?"

"Optic blasts," Scott said, glancing once more over his shoulder just in time to see the door open. "No time to explain. We've got to get out of here," he said, ushering Bobby toward the opening in the wall and the men behind them shouted for them to stop.

Scott flinched when he heard a shot ring out behind them and all but pushed Bobby ahead of him. "You know this town best - where can we hide?" he asked.

"Um … in another town?" Bobby suggested dryly. "Maybe  _not_ while you're blasting holes into buildings?"

"I really am sorry about that," Scott said. "I'm still learning how to control that."

"No, I mean … it was cool, but I just … wow." He smirked to himself. "Well. It was  _almost_ cool. I'm cool. You can try though."

Scott couldn't help but smirk as he followed Bobby as they ran. "Okay, smart guy. What do you do then?"

Bobby turned his way with a grin and a moment later iced up entirely from head to toe. "Oh, you know. I just chill."

Scott couldn't help but snort at that. "Nice." He shook his head and glanced around. "Where do you live? My professor was going to talk to your parents, and if we can catch up with him and my mom, we'll be alright."

"So you were going to my house?" Bobby asked, tipping his head to the side. "How did you know where to even … how … wait."

"It's a really long story, and I was going to give you the rundown someplace, well, not running from an angry mob, sorry," Scott said. "My professor is a telepath - he helps people like me and, well, you figure out how to control their powers." He tapped his glasses. "I'm still learning. Obviously."

"Obviously," Bobby agreed, then took a moment to de-ice, though it wasn't nearly as fast turning off as it was turning on. "It … takes me some time sometimes."

"I can't turn mine off at all," Scott admitted. "Managed it once, but…" He gave Bobby a tired smile. "Well, that's the whole point of the professor's school. That's why we were headed your way… but we were a little late to prevent trouble, I guess." He glanced back to see if the mob was still following them, and for the moment, it looked like they had some room to breathe hidden behind a nearby house. "I'll bet the professor could help you turn yours off too. Or keep from using your powers on accident."

"Yeah, we'll see, I guess. Maybe," Bobby said before he darted down a side street. "We've got a few blocks to go."

Scott nodded at that, and when they had both gotten their breath back, they took off running again. Scott wasn't sure how close they were to Bobby's house, since they were taking side paths and definitely not coming the way he'd driven, but Bobby had just let him know they were close when they heard people shouting at them to stop - among other things.

"Uh oh," Bobby said, wide eyed at the crowd that was making its way closer.

"No kidding," Scott said in a breath. They ducked down a side street, but when that ended in a long brick fence, both boys were swearing under their breaths as the crowd caught up to them. Several of the men had guns, and others were armed with whatever they'd grabbed - and the string of names both boys heard as the men approached was enough to have them both sure they were in serious trouble.

When one of the men raised his pistol, though, Scott spun to face the wall, yanking off his glasses to blast through it. He all but dragged Bobby through the opening with him, not willing to wait for the crowd to recover from their shock, and kept a hand on his glasses in case he needed to do that again - though he was starting to get a headache and wasn't too sure how much more he had in him.

Bobby yanked his arm from Scott and did what he could to seal up the hole, though of course, they were too close, and without meaning to, he iced up the entire street on the other side of the wall, which at least gave the two boys a chance to run.

They weren't paying much attention to where they were going as much as they were trying to outrun the mob coming after them, so they did realize they had doubled back until the nearly ran into several of the men who had circled back around to close in on the two of them.

Scott didn't want to use his optic blasts on any people if he could help it, but he and Bobby were pretty well surround, so he grabbed his glasses… and swore when the usual glow seemed to fizzle out, leaving a horrible headache in its place.

He started to use what he could focus on that Logan had taught him to fight back, but with the way his head was hurting him, he couldn't keep it together clearly enough to be effective … and it only took the crowd a few minutes to subdue both boys.

The shouts were raising up as the men tied the two of them up - hands and feet bound before they started to drag them down the street. Scott was in a panic - and for the second time found himself unable to reach his panic button no matter how he tried. Not that Bobby was any less panicked, and the fact that some of them were loading their guns had them both more desperate …

So it was all the more unnerving when everything simply froze. All motion stopped, some of them were mid-step, others, shouting … and it all fell silent and still. Well. Mostly.

"You get this from your dad, don't you?" K asked as she calmly stepped around a few of the men that made up the mob.

Scott's head was ringing with relief and the headache, and he shook his head lightly. "Very funny."

She crouched next to him and popped a claw to cut him loose. "Well I'm not the one that steps out to make friends and riles up half the town." She turned to Bobby and raised an eyebrow. "If you're smart, you won't move a muscle."

Bobby looked too stunned to try anything - and too relieved. "What did you do to them?" he asked.

"Me? Not a thing," K replied before she turned toward Scott. "Charlie has a few tricks."

"Apparently," Scott breathed out, shaking out his hands as he got to his feet. He closed his eyes to try and get a handle on his still racing heart and then looked back at K. "They were already getting ready to storm the jail to kill him. I had to get him out."

"I assumed as much," she said. "Too bad you didn't go with Charles. We wouldn't have this problem if we switched out."

Bobby shook his head as he looked between Scott and K. "So, this is your mom, right?" he asked.

"I…" Scott glanced at K, suddenly realizing his slip of the tongue earlier.

"Nice to meet you," K said, not missing a beat. "How about we get out of this mess, hmm?"

"Sounds good to me," Bobby agreed, still with wide eyes.

K waited while Scott offered Bobby a hand up then slipped off, waving for them to follow. The three of them were safely back at Bobby's home with Charles when the mob suddenly started to move again, though they all looked more than a little confused when they noticed their quarry was gone.

"Man," Bobby breathed out. "That… that was too close."

K paused in the doorway and then cleared her throat to catch Bobby's attention. "They're waiting for you … you might want to check with your parents now. They've been worried."

"Oh, yeah," Bobby said, rushing ahead of the group to go do just that.

The other three gave Bobby some time with his parents, hanging back for a lot of the worried reunion, though Scott did make it a point to clear his throat and tip his head K's way. "Thanks, by the way."

"For what?" she asked, blinking up at him.

"For getting me out of trouble again and for… not… busting me on the… 'mom' thing…" Scott said, turning redder with each word.

She tipped her head to the side at that. "If your Dad plays his cards right, then maybe you won't have to worry about it."

That got an honest grin out of Scott. "I really hope so," he admitted.

"Well he'll have to be a little more forthcoming about tiny little things like the Hudsons …"

"I can't control that," Scott said, spreading his hands out wide. "Sorry."

"Nope," she agreed. "But he can, and it's not for you to apologize for. Don't let the Canadian rub off on you."

Scott snorted at that. "You're never going to let that die, are you?"

"Never ever," she said, smirking up at him. "Besides, I'd be lucky to have a kid like you."

Scott turned somehow even redder as he mumbled his thanks, though he was glad when Charles stepped in to prompt them - they did still need to talk to the Drakes.

K took a moment to take Scott's arm before they followed Charles into the living room where Bobby and his family were gathered up. "Do you need more time?" K asked them quietly.

Bobby glanced at his parents, and both of them shook their heads. "I was just… telling them what Scott was saying about… controlling his powers…" he admitted.

"He's worked hard," K said, giving Scott a little squeeze and then moving out of the way so he could stand near Charles.

Charles smiled at the Drakes. "I'm sorry we couldn't have met under better circumstances," he said. "Scott is my student - I've built up a school for young mutants to learn how to not only control but use their powers in a positive way." He looked over the nervous couple. "I'd like to extend an offer to help your son as well. He has extraordinary gifts."

"He's helped Scott come a long way," K said with a little smirk, radiating calm confidence. "And I was probably more apprehensive than you were going into it."

Scott nodded at that. "We know there are plenty of people who aren't thrilled about mutants - to put it mildly," he said, glancing at Bobby. "My parents were nervous about it too… but we've been safe up in Westchester, and it's the first time I've been able to turn my powers off at all, let alone try to get a handle on them."

"I don't know," Bobby's mother said slowly.

"You would of course be able to visit anytime," Charles assured her warmly.

She frowned, seeming to think it over, before Bobby's father put a hand on her shoulder. "You know he can't stay here anyway," he said in a tired tone.

At that, her shoulders dropped, and she nodded. "Alright," she said softly. "But I'll expect you to call, Bobby," she told him sternly, though Bobby was already nodding with a hand over his heart.

"No worries, Mom. I know if I don't, you'll storm the castle. I'll call every week," he promised.

"He'll call after he settles in, and after his first day's of classes," K said, holding her gaze. "I'll make sure of it."

"Thank you," she replied before she seemed to straighten up. "Let me just gather some things," she said, slipping out of the room.


	17. The Iceman Cometh

or most of the drive back to Westchester, the focus had been on filling Bobby in on how the school worked and what classes would consist of, the usual boarding school issues that were always big questions for those who had never been. But once Bobby was settling into his room, Scott took a second to talk to Charles away from the others.

"You said that you wanted to help us learn how to use our powers to help others, right?" he asked quietly.

"Of course," Charles replied.

"Well…" Scott let out a breath. "There's got to be other kids out there like us. We can't be the only two. And if that's the response people are giving them…"

"That's exactly what I've been saying and why I've been looking for more young mutants in trouble," Charles said. "I'm trying to find them and get them  _out_ of harm's way before something dreadful happens."

"I want to help," Scott said. "I mean more than just talking to kids… I want to be able to … to  _do_ something."

"What do you propose, Scott?"

"Well, you said there are ways to use our powers to help people - and when we're up against mobs like that… I think the only way to help is to fight back," Scott said. "You were able to help me and Bobby; I was able to get him out of his cell. I think we could do… I guess something like the Avengers do." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't think Bobby and I could go out and save the world or anything - I just think we could help save lives. Does that make sense?"

Charles smiled warmly and nodded at that. "I think it makes perfect sense."

"Great," Scott said with a nod. "Then maybe… we can focus more on constructive ways to use our powers. Bobby and I actually made a pretty good team before I ran out of energy."

"We'll have to hone what you can do," Charles agreed. "And I'm sure Bobby could do well with a bit of self defense."

"I've been learning a lot from Logan," Scott said. "I think if we just expand from that, we've already got a good framework."

"Admittedly, I don't know what you've learned," Charles said.

"A little bit of meditation and martial arts," Scott said.

"Then perhaps … you might ask Logan what exactly it is he's taught you," Charles said.

Scott nodded. "Great. And then we can figure out how to apply it to helping other mutants." He grinned. "I mean, I like what you've said - about mutants and humans living together. But outside of people like the Avengers and some of Logan's friends… we're not exactly getting a stellar response. I want to fix that, if we can."

"My dear boy, that's precisely what I've been saying all along."

Scott rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, well, I guess I just needed to see it," he admitted. "I kept thinking… I mean, between Pearson and the department, I figured we just saw the worst of it, but that mob back there- that mob of normal people - that has to stop."

"I'd very much like to see that," Charles agreed.

"Great!" Scott grinned. "I'll talk to my dad and see what he'd suggest for training. Thanks, professor!" He gave Charles one more smile before he headed off to go find Logan.

* * *

After the first few days of more directed training with Logan, focusing on not just basics and self-defense but also how to cover a partner, Scott was feeling pretty good about the idea of, well, a  _team_  - even if right now it was just him and Bobby.

Bobby had liked the idea as well, especially since the mob had been coming after  _him_ and that was still fresh in his mind. Of course, he hadn't been getting the kind of training that Scott had, so a lot of their work together was the basics, but still, he had already told Scott that "this whole team thing" was much more fun than working with the professor on control.

And Scott had to admit - it really was. Even though he was still focused on getting a handle on the optic blasts, he found himself looking forward to working with Bobby more than anything else on his schedule - other than his mornings with Logan. Maybe he just enjoyed the feeling of moving forward on something, making progress when he was still having a hard time turning off his powers for more than a second or two at a time. But it really was  _fun_  as well.

And while Logan was helping him and Bobby with self-defense and tips and tricks that didn't require their powers, the professor was working with both of them to direct their powers for fighting scenarios. He was even reworking some of the equipment in the basement to set up more or less an obstacle course for them to use once it was finished - he just had to work it so that it was geared toward their specific powers.

But there was one aspect of this project that Scott knew he needed to get some outside help on. He knew that people weren't exactly going to be open to getting help from mutants, so the way he saw it, the best thing to do would be to do something to differentiate themselves, show who they were and that they were trying to help.

He felt a little weird asking the Avengers for help setting up a team - he didn't want them to think he was trying to copy them or something. But he also knew that Jan would love this kind of project.

So, he sat down that morning with a pad and paper to start a letter, though he did spend what felt like too long a time trying to figure out how to even address her. Wasp? Ms. Van Dyne? 'Jan' felt too familiar when he was still a kid and she was an Avenger.

He ended up deciding on 'Wasp' - partly because he knew she loved it when people used her codename anyway.

_This may sound like a strange request, but I was wondering if I could ask your help in designing a uniform of sorts. This school where I'm learning to work on my powers has been great, and I've talked with my professor and want to help other people with my gifts too. There's another boy here, Bobby, who agrees._

_We probably won't be doing anything big, but we do want to help other kids. As you've seen, there are people out there who won't let our age stop them from coming after us, right? There have to be other kids out there who could use the help._

_But I think it would help our cause if we had something like a uniform, some kind of unified front so that people can identify us and, over time, recognize the uniform as a good thing. Sort of like seeing a police officer, right?_

_I know you like to work with design, so I wanted to get your opinion. If you're interested, I'd really like to have something in a bright, light color, like yellow, because that's easier to see with my glasses on. Brighter hues stand out more._

_Please let me know what your thoughts are, even if you don't have time. I promise I won't be offended if you don't actually have time._

_Thank you,_

_-Scott_

Scott read over the letter a few times and then nodded to himself before he set the pad and pencil aside and finished up his breakfast. He was just getting up to leave when Bobby passed through on the way to the phone, and Scott waved at him. "Calling your parents?"

"My girlfriend, actually," Bobby said with a little smile. "I know we're nowhere close to home, but hey, don't want her to worry… all things considered."

"Probably a good idea," Scott agreed, and Bobby simply nodded as he slipped into the next room for a little privacy.

Though of course, now that Scott was thinking about it, that reminded him … he hadn't written Farrah since … since the whole thing with the department. Obviously, she hadn't known about everything that had gone down after she left, but still, it had been long enough that she probably thought he had forgotten his promise to write.

And he nearly had, considering how much  _else_ was going on.

Scott shook his head to himself. Well, he was mailing off one letter today; he might as well make it both if he was trekking out to the mailbox at the end of the long driveway before classes.

He poured himself another cup of coffee before he sat back down and tried to figure out what he could even  _say_  to Farrah.

_Hey, Farrah,_

_First of all, I wanted to apologize for not writing to you sooner. I know it's no excuse, but things have been really busy with me and my dad lately. We've been moving around a lot, trying to find a place that fits, and we've only recently really settled down. So, if you aren't mad at me for taking so long, the return address on this letter should be a lot more reliable than anything I could have given you before._

_I hope your summer has been a little quieter than ours has. We ran into a few problems - some people who don't like Dad, that kind of thing. But it wasn't all bad. Dad has a girlfriend, and I really like her… and guess what, it's Bridget! It's a little weird having my dad dating my old boss, but it works, somehow. She's more or less moved in with him, which is why even with us moving around, she's still around, by the way._

_And I got my license - driving and piloting! So maybe sometime if we're ever in the same town, I could take you flying. I think you'd like it._

_I've also found a sort of private school. The professor here thinks he can help with my eye problems. Hopefully, that means I won't have to wear the glasses as much, which would be nice. And in the meantime, the grounds are big, and there's even a lake, so the summer has been pretty jam packed._

_Like I said, I'm sorry that it took so long for me to write to you. I'm sure you've been having a great summer, and I hope you're enjoying your new place. With school coming up, it won't be the same this year, but I'd still like to hear how it goes._

_-Scott_

Scott read over the letter a few more times than the one he'd sent to Jan. He did feel a little weird about the fact that there was so much he didn't think he could tell Farrah, about the department and his powers and everything else. Even if he did wind up telling her about some of it… it didn't feel like something he would say in a letter.

But it was also the main reason he'd been out of contact. So he was a little worried he sounded like he'd just… forgotten about her while he was having fun, not while he was running for his life.

Still, there wasn't much he could do about that, so he leaned back, let out a breath, and finished his coffee. He was just getting up to go find Logan and ask what the best method would be to get a letter to Wasp when Bobby came back in, looking decidedly down, and dropped into the nearest seat.

"You okay?" Scott asked with a frown.

"Yeah, fine," Bobby replied, though he looked even more dejected at having company.

Scott frowned harder. "Are you sure - I mean, I can probably drive you down to go see her if you're that down…"

"Nah, it'd be a waste of gas," Bobby said as he crossed his arms in front of him and let out a long, drawn out sigh. "She dumped me."

Scott paused. "I'm sorry," he said. "That… sorry to hear that, really."

"All because of the stupid  _ice_ of all things, too," Bobby grumbled.

Scott frowned harder, thinking of the letter he was about to mail off and everything he hadn't said in it. "I guess… some people just can't handle it," he said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not really any good for relationship advice, but if you need something to take it out on, I think the professor almost has that obstacle course set up?"

"You think more training is going to what? Fix my mood?"

"I don't know," Scott said. "I just… sometimes it feels good to blow things up?" He shrugged. "Sorry. I told you I'm not very good at this."

"I dunno," Bobby said. "Maybe …"

"Yeah, it's just a suggestion. You don't have to take it," Scott said as he grabbed his letters and got to his feet - though almost as soon as he moved toward the door, he found that there was absolutely no traction, and his feet slid out from underneath him. He went down in a heap, and the fact that he slid a couple inches on the ice didn't help his pride, either. "Bobby!"

Bobby couldn't help but burst out laughing at the look on Scott's face. "I can't help it! You were asking for it!"

"By trying to help?" Scott asked, shaking his head as he put a hand on the table to pull himself up.

"No! By acting like a forty year old!" Bobby defended, still grinning for a split second before he straightened up and tried to look serious.

Scott shook his head at that, though it was hard to stay mad when at least Bobby wasn't down anymore. "Feel better, Bobby," he shot over his shoulder as he left, still shaking his head to himself as he headed for the boathouse.

Logan answered the door to let him in, and Scott showed him the two letters - both of which had the address on his license and passport, since they were still using that for mail just in case. "Any idea how to send this to Wasp without it getting lost in fan mail?" he asked.

"You can either send it to Cap's place, or address it to Jarvis," Logan said without looking up. "Pretty sure either of those would work out fine."

"Or Coulson," K added.

"I'll just… send it to Captain America," Scott said, not really sure he wanted SHIELD to know he was thinking about a team... Even Coulson.

"Address is in my wallet," Logan told him, gesturing toward the little kitchenette that was in the boathouse. "Help yourself."

Scott nodded, setting aside the letters for the moment, though when he found the Alpha Flight ID, he paused. "I didn't know you were still on a team."

Logan looked over his shoulder and shrugged as he settled into a seat. "I'm not anymore," he said.

"You still have the ID."

"That's just because I don't know what to do with it," Logan said. "And I wasn't sure if it was permanent when I left. It is."

"Huh." Scott nodded to himself and then quickly wrote down the address. "Alright, thanks. I'll just send these off."

"How … many letters are you sending to Jan?" K asked, leaning around Logan to watch Scott.

Scott shook his head. "Just the one."

"So ….. The other is for…."

"Well, I told Farrah I'd write, and I haven't really done that all summer, so…"

"Ooooh, you've been neglecting your sweetheart," K said. "Not real good. Did you learn  _that_ from your Dad too?" she couldn't help but tease.

"I - what, no!" Scott shook his head quickly. "It's just - with the department and the - what are you talking about?"

Logan put his arm around her and pulled her over just to pinch her side. "She's being a pain," Logan said, shaking his head.

"Because Heather was so crestfallen," K chuckled.

"Heather's married," Scott said.

"Be that as it may, she's why he left," K said. "Isn't that right?" She turned to Logan who held his breath for a moment but didn't answer.

"I thought you were outrunning the department," Scott said with a frown.

Logan bit his lip as he kept his gaze to his hands in front of him. "They didn't start chasing me until after I left the Flight."

"But you and Heather…" Scott shook his head. "I know you said you're trying to keep it square…"

"Nothing ever happened," Logan swore.

"I guess I just can't wrap my head around it," Scott said with a shrug. "I always thought when you get married, it's for life."

"That's how it's supposed to be," Logan agreed. "But they didn't get a real clean start with me in the middle."

Scott shook his head. "Yeah, well, then I'm glad you left. That… could have been weird."

"It would have been bad," Logan agreed. "And I couldn't do that to either of them. Which is why I left."

Scott nodded. "Well, I hope with you and K together she'll get past it. I mean - she seemed nice."

"Would have gotten past it anyhow," Logan defended. "Just needed to get rid of the distraction. Remember why she married him in the first place."

"Right. Well." Scott rubbed the back of his neck. "Anyway, thanks for the help. I was hoping Wasp could help me work something out for the -um - well, for me and Bobby anyway. And anyone else who wants to help."

"Whatcha got in mind?" K asked, still pleased that finally, the two of them were clearing the air.

"Well, I wanted to know if she could put something together for us to wear," Scott said. "I'm hoping if we have some kind of… I know it sounds corny, but if we had some kind of uniform, people might respect that, even if they might not respect us as mutants."

"Got a job to do, you put on a uniform," Logan said, nodding.

"Right. And I know she loves design work, so I thought I would give her first shot," Scott said.

"She'll love it," K agreed.

"That's what I'm hoping, anyway. As long as she's not too busy," Scott said. "I mean, right now it's just me and Bobby, so it's not like we're the Avengers or anything. Just… trying to help a few other kids, right? Start small, and maybe we'll grow from there."

Logan looked up at him with a smirk. "Uh huh."

Scott rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I mean, I'd  _like_ for us to be able to do as much as we can, obviously. I'm just trying to start with realistic expectations." He paused and smirked Logan's way. "I mean, if we had you and K on the team…"

"Couple teenagers and a pair of adults?" Logan asked. "Doubt you'd want that."

"Just a thought," Scott said, dropping his shoulders a bit. "I just know you both are better at this - I mean, we're still new to … all of it."

"If it gets going where you'd  _need_ me for something, then I'll think about it," Logan said.

Scott couldn't quite rein in his smile at that. "Great! I mean, that would be great," he said, nodding quickly.

"Awww, you two are gonna work together," K said, teasing both of them as she leaned into Logan's side.

"You could help too," Scott pointed out. "I mean, it's not like you haven't had experience rescuing kids in danger…"

"I've never been on a  _team_ though," K said. "I'd probably screw it up."

Scott shook his head quickly. "No, I don't think that's true," he said. "But…" He looked toward Logan. "I guess we'll wait and see if we need the backup. I know for sure that you're good at getting me out of trouble, if nothing else," he added with a small smile her way. "That's two times now you've rescued me from guys with guns."

"Well someone has to do it," she teased.

"Apparently."

"Are you coming back for dinner later or are you bonding with your team?" K asked, though she managed to make sure that she sounded perfectly serious. "What are you calling yourselves anyhow?"

"I… I don't know," Scott admitted. "We should probably come up with a name, if we're making uniforms."

"Figure it out with Drake," Logan said. "Don't want to dictate to anyone if you can avoid it."

Scott nodded. "Not right now, though," he said. "He's… that girl broke up with him so I'm not touching that with a ten-foot pole."

"Want me to go pick on him?" K asked. "He'll be blushing in no time."

"Just watch your back - he's icing up the floor when you're not looking," Scott muttered.

"Sounds like he needs a little of his own medicine," Logan said.

"I'm not blasting him," Scott said.

"No, but that doesn't mean you have to keep sparring with kid gloves," Logan said. "Push him. Hard."

"That's… really not fair," Scott said with a quiet smirk. "I've had a lot more practice."

"But it's fair for him to ice up the floor under you?" Logan challenged.

"That… is a good point," Scott admitted, the smirk widening as he headed back to the house, this time with a whole new idea for training in mind.


	18. What's In A Name?

Scott was still smirking to himself that morning as he watched Bobby come in. Two days of upping the training to Scott's level of tolerance instead of playing it easy had Bobby moving much slower - and not playing any pranks, that was for sure.

Still, Scott was going to tone it back today, because Bobby was obviously sore and payback was one thing, but he really was serious about wanting to get the team started.

So, in the spirit of an olive branch…

"We need a name," he told Bobby as the other boy sat down to breakfast across from him.

"For …"

"For the team," Scott said. "We need a name. It's not like we can just go around saying, 'Hi, it's Scott and Bobby here to help'. Especially when we get more kids involved."

"Well … yeah. But what kind of name could we even use? Not like we can just come up with something cool like 'the Avengers' or 'The Fantastic Four'."

"I'm sure we could figure something out," Scott said. "Maybe something about… I don't know… we don't want to lean too heavily on the mutant angle when people hate mutants so much right now…"

"Yeah, but we're not fighting Hydra or … or … Dr. Doom either."

"That's true," Scott said. "Maybe something to do with the school, then? I mean… how do you make 'Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters' into a team name, though…"

"I've been calling him Professor X," Bobby said with a shrug. "Xavier is a mouthful."

Scott shook his head at that, but it did have the gears turning. "Something with X, then? Like… the X-Team or the X-Men…"

"Oh, yeah. I like that," Bobby said, nodding. "The X-Men. Has a good ring to it."

"Great! Then we've got a team name," Scott said with a grin.

"Then we need code names too," Bobby said with a grin. "And I totally know what I want."

"Yeah? What are you thinking?" Scott asked, genuinely curious.

"I can be Iceman," he said, holding his hands out wide. "And  _you_ can be ... " He thought it over for a long time, then smirked crookedly. "Laser face is probably too close to it, isn't it?"

"I am  _not_ going by 'laser face'," Scott said dryly.

"What about … what about 'Zap'?"

Scott shook his head. "I don't think so. It sounds like someone the Avengers would fight, don't you think?"

"Well 'Captain Serious-pants' isn't a very fun name either." Bobby was chuckling by that time. "What kind of an impression do you want to make? I mean, I can't even call you 'four-eyes' with those glasses on … you look like you only have one …" He stopped and scrunched up his nose. "You  _do_ have two eyes under there, right?"

"You're hilarious," Scott said, shaking his head. "Yes, I have two eyes. I just …" He let out a long breath. "You know… that's … you're not wrong." He smirked to himself. "Okay, smart guy. What about 'Cyclops'?"

"That … fits a lot better than it should."

Scott rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "It kinda sounds cool, though, right?"

"OH yeah, well … not as cool as 'Iceman' but still. It's not like we have any real super-heroes to bounce ideas off of."

"Well, I could ask Wasp…" Scott said. "I actually already asked her if she had any idea for a uniform, since she's a designer," he admitted, in the spirit of full disclosure.

"How ... "

"I met the Avengers a while ago," Scott said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Lots of people meet the Avengers," Bobby said. "But you can't just ask advice from them like that."

"No, no, I mean I spent some time with them," Scott said. "My dad knows Captain America." He shrugged lightly, not wanting to sound like he was bragging. "He doesn't exactly… spread that around…"

Bobby blinked at him for a moment, and it was obvious that he didn't buy it. "How the heck does  _your Dad_  know Captain America?"

"From the war," Scott said. "I know he doesn't look it, but Dad's pretty old."

"But that was like … forty years ago."

"Yeah," Scott said. He took a deep breath and held it before he let it out. "But Dad's a mutant too. That's why he's lived so long. It's part of his mutation."

"Okay, but now I wanna know about that too."

Scott shrugged. "He can heal," he said. "I guess that means aging doesn't affect him much either, apparently."

"Does he have a different name too, or is 'Logan' enough?" he was snickering at himself for that. "Strikes fear into the heart of anyone smaller …"

"Oh, shut up," Scott said, shaking his head. "Actually, he was on Alpha Flight in Canada, and they called him 'Wolverine', but he doesn't want to join the team. Said it would be like a chaperone."

"Okay," Bobby said, though he was thinking it all over. "But … okay. There are a million questions to go with all of that …"

"Yeah, I had the same reaction," Scott said. "The more I learn about my dad's past, the more I want to know."

"That's kind of cool though," Bobby said. "My parents don't have anything cool going on in their backgrounds. Just the normal college … work … that kind of stuff."

"Yeah, but that's great too," Scott pointed out. "With my family, we have to worry about … well, people who want to kill my dad or make him work for them." He shrugged. "That's the whole point of the team, right? Mutants are getting the shaft."

"Yeah, that would be nice if we could stop people from being idiots and lynching teenagers. I personally find that offensive."

Scott smirked. "Yeah, agreed." He straightened up a bit. "Alright, so, the X-Men. Cyclops and Iceman. Sounds like a good team so far to me."

* * *

It didn't take Jan any time at all after she got the letter from Scott to clear out a spot on her schedule and make her way up to Westchester. When she arrived, she was wearing a big sun hat and large, dark sunglasses, though she was nearly bouncing in place. Even with the massive bag she was dragging behind her.

So when Bobby answered the door, not only was he clueless on who he was looking at - but he was entirely off guard on how to talk to her when she was so … excitable.

"Oh, hello!" Jan said, beaming at him. "I'm looking for Scott - or Logan or K if they're around?"

"Hi," Bobby said. "They're … um … I think the adults are in the kitchen? Scott's … I can get him. He's working with the professor right now." He gestured behind him. "I can show you where they are, if you want, or …"

"That would be great, thanks!" Jan said, still beaming.

Bobby shook his head and closed the door behind her before he started to lead her to the kitchen. He knocked on the open door as he approached. "Don't want to interrupt anything, but you guys have a visitor," Bobby said, frowning to himself since he still wasn't sure what the story was.

Both Logan and K turned, and K moved slightly away from where she'd been curled into Logan's side before she waved at Jan. "Love the incognito look on you," she said. "You look like you fell out of a 40's detective movie."

Jan beamed. "I was trying to fit the look of this place!" she said. "It looks like it hasn't changed in a couple centuries at least," she teased.

"It probably hasn't," K agreed as Logan got to his feet to say hello.

"You look like you're up to something," Logan said before he pulled Jan over and kissed her cheek. "Whatcha up to, troublemaker?"

"First of all, I'm always up to something," she teased. "And second of all, you think I wasn't going to come  _right here_ when your son asked me to  _design a uniform_ for him and his team?" She clapped her hands together. "His team! Since when is that a thing? He is  _so_ taking after you!"

"So you got his letter then, eh?" Logan laughed. "Better hope he finds a better role model."

"Oh, lies," Jan said, waving her hand. "I think it's great! I wanted to talk to him about what he wanted for the design. He really only gave me a color to work with, but then,  _boys_ …"

Logan nodded at that and gestured to the table they had been sitting at. "He'll be out of his session in maybe fifteen minutes."

"Have a seat, I'll get you some coffee," K offered. As she went into the kitchen, she hit Bobby with the back of her hand. "Come on, show some manners to Wasp. You know. Before she stings you."

"Wait… that's…. You're Wasp?" Bobby blinked at Jan in surprise.

"See? My incognito totally works," Jan sang out to K.

"Who the hell'd you think she was?" Logan asked with a frown.

"How am I supposed to know? I've only been here for a little while; I don't know who comes and goes!" Bobby pointed out.

"Aww, that's alright. I totally picked this outfit for style, and there's no yellow… though I  _did_ bring some different yellow swaths for Scott and I brought some clothes because I  _know_ you three haven't been shopping when you're been out adventuring or whatever…"

"He wants yellow?" K asked, perking up a little as she brought Jan her coffee. "Oh, that's so  _very interesting_ , Mrs. Pym."

"Right?" Jan beamed. "He says it's because bright and light colors are easier to see, but we all know there's some  _reasoning_ ," she giggled.

"Oh, I'm sure that's all it is," K said, nodding slowly as Logan rolled his eyes.

"You can both stop," Logan said. "He's got no reason to lie about that."

"Okay, sure," Jan said before she turned to Bobby. "So, are you on the team too?" she asked, looking him over. "I bet I could work something up for you too. I mean, I was planning for three, but I can do four."

"It's Scott and Bobby," Logan said. "Just Scott and Bobby."

"Oh, that's no fun!" Jan pouted. "I wanted to do a matched set!"

"What do you mean a matched set?" Bobby asked. "Matched to who - or  _what_?"

"A whole  _family_ set of uniforms!" Jan sang out, bouncing in place. "It would be amazing. You know it would be!"

"I've never worn yellow around you," K pointed out.

"Well, neither has Scott, which is  _why_ I brought the swaths," Jan said. "Yellow can be a draining color if you're not careful, you know."

Logan was scrubbing his hand over his face when Scott and Charles finally showed up - just in time to hear the end of Jan's statement.

"Oh, wow, you got here fast," Scott said. "Hi, Wasp," he added, waving at her in the split second he had before she bounced over to hug him.

"I got your letter and came over as soon as I got everything together!" she said excitedly. "I have so many questions for you. Do you have a name? A logo? You can't  _just_ wear yellow; you need another color too… We have so much work to do!"

Scott paused and glanced around the room for a moment. "Well … we don't have a lot of that, but we did come up with a name." He had his hand resting at the back of his neck and he was looking a bit more sheepish now that he was about to say it in front of just about all the adults he knew. At least Captain America wasn't there for the test run. "We - Bobby and I anyhow … we were kicking around 'X-Men' for a team name."

Jan grinned. "I like it! And no one's using it, and it sounds original. You don't want to sound like a cheap knock-off, right? It totally works!"

"And," Bobby said, leaning over the counter until he was nearly laying on it. "I'm Iceman. For the ice. And snow." He grinned and took just a moment to ice up a snowball and hand it to her.

Jan grinned as she tossed the snowball between her hands. "Okay, so question for you - do you get cold, then? With your powers? Or do you need to keep the heat out to stay frosty?"

"Not … really?" Bobby said. "But heat and I don't mix too well."

"Got it!" Jan nodded. "So something that you won't overheat in. I can do that." She grinned at Scott. "And I already had ideas for yours… we so need to update your glasses for mission trips. I mean, those are fine for around the house, but you have a team now!"

"More like a team-up," K corrected. "So far."

"Oh, please," Jan said, waving a hand. "It's going to be amazing, and we all know it." She held her hands up to frame Scott and Bobby. "So. We'll need some 'x's on the uniform. Branding is important, you know…"

"What about the school logo?" Charles suggested. "Part of it might be useful."

Jan gestured to Charles grandly. "Oh, yes, I like your new professor," she told Scott. " _He_ gets it!" She turned toward Logan and K. "Oh, and I found a great material that I was thinking about for you two. Totally more durable than the rags you wore with Alpha Flight."

"What kind of material is it?" K asked, smirking hard. "And please tell me it's not red and white."

"Oh, no, it's yellow - I'm still going to make my matched set," Jan promised. "But I put Tony to work for me working up a synthetic fiber. It's really great, and it breathes so well, and I'm totally using it in my suit too."

"I still have a suit I'm not usin'," Logan said. "And Cap has the other one. Or SHIELD does. Whatever."

"That's so last year," Jan said, shaking her head at Logan. "Trust me; you'll love it." She spun to face Scott, who was pretty red-faced. "Oh, and I already talked to Tony; he said he can hook me up with some of that ruby quartz stuff, so you just leave that to me, okay?"

"Do you need a hand notating measurements?" K asked. "Because I want to be there for that."

"Sure!" Jan said, which only had Scott even more red-faced.

"You really don't have to… thanks, I mean…" Scott said.

"Are you kidding? I love projects like this!" Jan assured him.

"So," K said before she stole a kiss from Logan and took a hold of his arm. "We'll head down to the library to set up so you have room to measure. I'll grab a notebook on the way."

"Perfect!" Jan beamed at K and then pointed at Logan. "Oh, and I brought a bag full of clothes for the three of you!"

"You lookin' for another kiss?" he teased before he leaned over to kiss her cheek again anyhow. "I appreciate it. Thanks, darlin'."

"Aww, love you too," Jan said with a grin before she bounded off to go set up, leaving the boys both shaking their heads and not quite sure what to do.

" _What the heck is even happening?_ " Bobby whispered to Scott, wide-eyed.

"I… have no idea," Scott whispered back. "I didn't know she'd… do… that."

"Your  _Dad_ just … what?"

"I … I really don't know what to tell you."

Bobby was wide eyed as he ran his hands through his hair and then looked back at Scott. "Well … you're the one that knows everyone. You lead the way."

"I… okay…" Scott shook his head to himself before he headed down the way Jan had gone, surprised to see that she had already laid out different colors of yellow and had her measuring tape out and everything.

"Okay, so, you really need a bright, bright yellow," Jan told him. "It'll look great; I promise."

"O...kay," Scott said, though he didn't get to do much more before Jan was already showing him the different color combinations she was considering.

A few minutes into Jan's one sided conversation, Logan and K came in with the notebook, though as K sat down to take notes, Logan looked over at the things she had laid out and tapped the brightest one she'd been talking about earlier. "That's not even a real color."

"What are you talking about? It's a great color!"

"Neon isn't something that happens in nature. Forget it."

"You don't know what you're talking about. It's the height of fashion!"

Logan raised an eyebrow her way. "Are they goin' out on a catwalk or somewhere that people will actually be looking at them? I doubt blinding the baddies is a solid battle strategy."

"Oh, you're just no fun," Jan said in a huff.

"How come your uniform isn't that color then?" Logan asked, crossing his arms and leveling his gaze at her.

"That… well… oh,  _fine_ ," Jan said, still looking frustrated - though she did switch to a different, gentler yellow. "Okay, well, this will look stunning with a deep black…."

"Yellow and black?" Bobby said. "Are you sure you're not turning us into bumblebees? There aren't any stripes are there? Wasp and the bumblebees?"

"No stripes," Jan promised. "But it's a great contrast, and really, the black would just be the accents. The 'x's and the belt and maybe a little accent along the shoulders or the hips…"

"Um … okay," Bobby said, frowning as she measured his arms and even trying to make his bicep bigger when she took that measurement.

Jan smirked to herself. "Now, this is supposed to fit you tightly, okay?" she said. "You don't want your uniform snagging - trust me on this. It is  _not_ fun."

"Yeah, right. Of course," Bobby said, looking a little redder around the ears just before his hair frosted over and his breath froze as he spoke.

Jan glanced up at him and then grinned. "That really is so cool!" she said. "I've never seen someone who does that. Sort of like the opposite of the Human Torch, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Bobby said, straightening up a little bit.

"So, can you fly? I mean, I guess it would be different without a ready-made heat engine…" Jan shook her head to herself. "Still, that would be cool."

"No flying, but I've been working on making ice slides," Bobby said. "I can skate on the ice as fast as I can make it."

"Hey, that's amazing!" Jan grinned up at him. "Okay, Iceman, I need to measure your waist and your legs, so just… hold still."

Bobby nodded and swallowed a couple times. "Yeah, okay. Sure. Yeah…"

Jan worked quickly on him - calling out the measurements for K as she got them and as she knew would happen, when she got to the inseam, he held his breath and was very tensely trying not to move. "All done!" she said brightly as Logan and K had their heads together. "Scott's next! We'll save the adults for last!"

Scott didn't look any better for having seen the whole process himself, and he was just as nervy as Bobby had been before him, trying not to move and standing with what felt like every muscle tensed through the measuring process. But when it was over, he relaxed slightly and slipped back and away from the measuring tape.

"Okay, do you want to go next… or do you want to be the one to measure Logan?" Jan asked K with a little troublemaking smirk.

"Either or," K said.

"I don't need to be measured," Logan said. "Nothing's changed."

"Oh, come on!" Jan sang out. "The boys had to do it. Are you chickening out?"

"I'm not chickening out, you already have it," Logan argued.

"Um, I do  _not_ ," Jan said. "I don't just go around measuring people in their sleep at the mansion or whatever deviant thing you think I did!"

Logan let out a breath. "Well shows you were thinkin' about it at least." He got to his feet and made his way over. "Thought you'd have it from Fury."

"Why does Nick Fury have your measurements, Logan? Is there something I need to know about you two?"

"He needed something to apire to," Logan said straight faced. "He's behind in the arms. Ahead in the waist."

Jan burst into a laugh at that but waved him over. "Okay, tough guy. Let's see how you measure up. I already know both of the boys have you beat in height."

Logan waited until she was done picking and simply held his arms up as she wanted them for one measurement after another. "Doesn't take much to beat me in height," Logan said. "You even managed it. Today."

"I knew these shoes were good for something!" she teased.

The two of them went back and forth through the entire measurement process - with Logan moving seamlessly as Jan took the measurements she needed. The whole thing went a lot faster than for either of the boys because of it, too.

"Okay, now it's K's turn," Jan said, beaming up at him. "I'd let you help, but there are  _children_ present," she teased.

"I guess I'll just have to take notes," Logan teased right back, though he stole a kiss as he and K switched spots.

"You're using this for a dress of some sort … black, I'd hope," K said, trying to get a rise out of her.

"Oh, I can definitely use it for a dress too," she assured her.

"Black," K said a little more firmly when she saw the smile Jan was wearing.

" _One_ will be black," Jan shot back.

"That's the only one I'll need then," she said, though she was moving through the measurements with Jan as well or better than Logan had.

"Oh, you'll change your mind when you see what I've got cooking," Jan assured her. "And I know you said you're not on the team, but matching family outfits? So happening."

"You're insane," K laughed. "And that black dress? Less than knee-length, please."

"Um, obviously," Jan said. "And the red one will be too."

"Excellent. You're making your case for favorite Avenger," K said. She stopped and turned her head to watch Jan. "Has he asked her out yet?"

Jan snickered. "Not yet. Which is  _ridiculous_ , considering how he was when we went out - all of us girls with just him."

"He's got to come around," K said in a breath. "She's cute, sweet, knows how to handle him… and he already can't tie his shoes without her."

"All of these things are true," Jan agreed, nodding seriously. "He's an idiot sometimes."

"He is. Please tell me he's at least gotten the message on things with me, or I'll have to attack him next time. Scare the life out of him."

"Oh, yeah, he's got it," Jan said. She leaned forward slightly. "And the new guy? Clint? Thinks it's hilarious and he already has a bet with Thor, of all people, on when Tony will actually ask Pepper out. It's  _great_."

"That doesn't surprise me, actually," K laughed. "So what's the story with the new guy? Are you keeping him as a houseplant?"

Jan snickered. "No, but I might now!" she said. "I like him. He's actually very sweet, and he's been great to listen to me when Hank's being … Hank."

K frowned at that. "Do you want me to have a few words with Hank? Spit in his beaker or something? Kick him in the shins?"

"No, no," Jan said quickly. "No, it's just… well, you know how he gets when his head is in a project. It's like I don't even exist," she said with a sigh.

"You two need to go drinking," Logan decided.

"That would require him to  _leave his lab_ ," Jan pointed out, rolling her eyes.

"No," Logan said, gesturing between her and K. " _You two_. It'd be good for you."

Jan shook her head, but it was clear from her expression that she was considering it. "Maybe," she said as she started to pack up her things. "We'll see…" She straightened up, shook her head, and then glanced toward the boys to give them a smile. "Anyway - expect the uniforms soon, okay? I really do have some time on my hands, so I'll probably knock this out fast…"

"Thanks, Jan," K said, pulling her over for a hug that lasted a good long while as she whispered to Jan that she needed to say in touch too."

"Like you could keep me away," Jan whispered back, positively beaming at her.

As soon as K let her go, Logan did the same thing, pulling her over and into a long, warm hug where he too, was clearly muttering something to her that the boys couldn't hear.

By the time Jan skipped out, Bobby was clearly shocked by the whole interaction and was shaking his head. "Okay, but now I have even  _more_ questions," he whispered to Scott.

"Like what?" Logan asked. "Don't know how the whole measuring thing works?"

"No, I get that," Bobby said. "But… how… how do you … that's an Avenger who just… waltzed in and …  _what_?"

Logan had his eyes narrowed at Bobby as he sputtered his way through the non-question. "Where's the question in there?"

"How do you even - how are you guys such close friends with the Avengers?"

"I told you we spend time with them," Scott pointed out.

"Yeah, but…"

"It's not a big deal," Logan said, waving him off. "I fought with Cap a few times in the war. That's all."

Bobby let out a low whistle and shook his head. "Okay, what even  _is_ a big deal to you, then?"

"Not much. I did a lot of things in the war," Logan said. "That was just a couple weeks worth out of years of fighting. Do the math."

"Right, okay, but that's Captain America," Bobby said.

"I'm Canadian. I could care less."

"Oh, come on. Even Canadians know who Captain America is!"

"You gonna get hung up on that, I don't know that I can take you around anyone, frostbite."

"Iceman," Bobby said. "I mean, good name - close."

"Keep it up and it'll be 'Snowballs'."

"But only when you're  _not_ all iced up," K amended for Logan.

"Oh come on."

Scott was smirking hard by this point. "Learn to quit while you're behind, Bobby."

"No fair getting your parents to do your dirty work."

"I didn't 'get' them to do anything," Scott said, smirking harder. "You brought it on yourself."

Bobby shook his head at that. "I still say it's an unfair advantage."

"Sure, Bobby," Scott said, smirking as he headed for the door. "If that makes you feel better."


	19. Downhearted Cherubim

Scott was in a great mood that morning. It really felt like things were falling into place. With codenames and a uniform on the way, Bobby was even putting more into training. They hadn't gone on anything like a mission yet, but Scott truly felt like they were getting to a point where they could probably try their hand at something. Maybe rescue someone from a mob or something

He'd already talked to the professor, who had promised to keep an eye out in addition to looking for other students, and since the professor had really been behind Scott's team from the start, Scott was sure Professor Xavier would get their team out there.

After all, a lot of it came from the professor's idea of showing the world that mutants weren't anything to be afraid of.

Plus, he had just come in from a morning working with Logan, and it had gone even better than usual. He was really starting to build up the muscle memory that he needed to, and that was only building his confidence as well.

He'd only gotten started on breakfast when he looked over the mail - more out of curiosity and to grab the paper that Logan had already read - and was surprised to see that there was a letter for him.

He quickly grabbed the envelope and couldn't quite stop the smile when he saw the name on the return address before he tore it open.

_Scott - I was wondering if you'd fallen off the planet or something. Hope you guys find a place to settle in for a longer time than before. It's hard for us to move when we do, but that's not usually any closer than a few years. You weren't even there a whole school year, so … yeah. That's just hard, I know._

_I started up at a really good private school - all girls. I guess Dad is paranoid that I'll find another adorable boy with good taste in coffee and a great smile. And you know. Congratulations. You made him nervous with that. Ha ha._

_But Bridget and your Dad? That's … kind of crazy. She was in that coffee shop for a long time. I guess I didn't take her as the type to just … pick up and disappear like that. (I won't scar you with what I think the reasoning might be behind that. But I guess I already did just … put that in your head to imagine. Try not to picture it … no wait. Just … stew on the possibilities. You're welcome. :D )_

_You're lucky you got your licenses - I still haven't even taken the test for driving, and I can't even imagine trying to do flying. But … you were always good at technical stuff, so I'm not really that surprised._

_Hope to see you soon - and I hope that this year is a good one for you. I miss our coffee talks a lot._

_XOXO - Farrah_

Scott couldn't stop grinning over the letter, so he hadn't even noticed that he wasn't the only one in the kitchen, either.

"Oh, I have missed that face," K sang out. "Makes me crave a big, extra shot  _caramel mocha._ "

Scott glanced up quickly and flushed bright red. "I was just…."

"Mmmhmm. You were just. You were always just."

Scott turned even redder, somehow, and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's.. just a letter…"

"So what did she say? Did she send her undying love? I know she had to have. You know. First kiss and everything."

Scott shook his head. "No, she was just… she's at a new school and, you know…"

"Missing you terribly. Her after school study buddy that laughed at her jokes and smiled at her … like that." K grinned and kissed his cheek. "It's okay. You two were adorable. I won't tell anyone if you start to plan out your shared college co-ed experience together. I'll just … wait. And continue watching from afar, cheering you on as you two keep  _going_ \- with the sweetness and the kisses and the blushing at each other..."

"You don't know that she's blushing," Scott pointed out.

"She did - just about every day that she was around you. You didn't always see it because you were working the counter, but she did. Blush. Often."

Scott turned a slightly deeper red. "Yeah. Well. I… I should write her back…" He gestured with one hand as he got to his feet to get a pad and pen.

"Absolutely," she agreed, nodding. "I'll buy you a book of stamps. Love stamps."

"I… okay… thanks," Scott said, honestly not sure how to argue with her on it. When she just kept smiling at him, he shook his head and simply buried his head in the letter

_Farrah,_

_It's great to hear back from you, even if I think you might be giving me a little too much credit for your dad's school choices. Don't forget - there were those guys at school that I got in trouble for fighting with._

_I'm actually in more or less the same boat. The school isn't exactly boys-only, but so far, that's the case for my classes. But it's a relatively new school; we'll see what happens._

_I hope you can get your license soon, though. It's nice to be able to go somewhere without bumming a ride. And I'm the oldest student here right now, too, so I get plenty of practice in if we decide we want to just go with drive-thru._

He glanced up at K, who was at least making a new batch of coffee and not  _overtly_ looking like she was paying attention to Scott, before he went back to the letter.

_Bridget is actually great for my dad, to tell you the truth. She's pretty much part of the family by now, even if it's not official yet. I'm sure that will happen eventually, so if you get an embossed invitation in the mail, you can laugh about my boss being part of my family. It's okay; I know there are jokes. I've heard plenty of them._

_I wish I could tell you more, but I don't really know where to start. It's pretty busy over here even with the school year just starting. We've been enjoying the outdoors too. Like I said, we have some big grounds._

He paused, glanced up at K one more time, and then nodded to himself.

_Maybe you can visit sometime. I think you'd like this place._

_Talk to you again soon,_

_-Scott_

By that time, K had taken her coffee and left, and Scott relaxed the slightest bit, reading over the letter one more time before he got up to mail it off. After all, he'd made Farrah wait for a long time to write her; he wanted to make up for it by writing back consistently now.

* * *

Logan was taking a lap with Bobby, and Scott was with Charles for their session when the doorbell rang. K barely looked up from her coffee before she abandoned it at the table and made her way over to the front door to find a tall, blond young man with a pair of suitcases at his feet.

"Can I help you?" she asked before she looked around him to see the long, black stretch limo beyond him.

"Are you in charge of admissions here?" he asked.

"No," she said, shaking her head lightly, though she stepped out of his way to invite him in. "The professor is in a session with a student right now. They won't be too long. Come in out of the rain."

The young man nodded and glanced over his shoulder, though the limo was already leaving. He turned back to K with a sigh. "I'm Warren, by the way," he said.

"I'm K," she said, offering her hand to him. "Why don't you come and have a little coffee or cocoa or something while you wait? I just brewed a fresh pot of coffee if you drink it."

"Thank you; that would be lovely," Warren agreed. "Do you have any place for me to put my things?" He gestured to his suitcases. "I know it's unorthodox…"

"You can take them to the stairs if you like, but no one will bother your things," she promised.

"Thank you," Warren said, doing just that with a little frown. "So, if you don't mind - if you don't run admissions, what is your role here? I don't know much about this institute."

"I keep everyone from being idiots," she said with a smirk. "And obviously, I make the coffee."

"Obviously," he repeated, smirking slightly as he sat down at the table.

"The school is just getting off the ground," K said. "So there are some aspects that are a little informal still. And who I am … is a little convoluted, honestly. So … I guess I'm an advocate more than anything else."

"Well, that's good news," Warren said. "I could probably use an advocate; I don't know that my father called ahead before he sent me here. And I don't know what the requirements are for admission."

"Well, I can't say for sure what the requirements are outside of a few special considerations," K said. "And as to if he called ahead, that would be a question for the professor. However … I'd advise you to try and relax a little. No one will turn you away here."

Warren gave her a tight, but polite, smile. "Thank you for the coffee, K."

She let her expression soften a little. "I'm serious, Warren. You can relax a little."

"I think I may after I speak with the professor," Warren said.

She nodded at that as she picked up her coffee and took a sip. "Well if that's what you're waiting for -  _to breathe_  - I can absolutely go and get him now. He won't mind. He loves when I interrupt him."

"If you wouldn't mind," Warren said.

"Not a bit," she promised, and as she passed him by, she gave his arm a little squeeze. "Hang tight, I'll be back in a flash." She made her way right down the hall to the professor's office, knocked once to warn him and then stepped inside, where he and Scott were actually wrapping things up. "I know you're in the hand holding stage right now, but there is a young man that just came by. He's nervous, and I have the distinct feeling that someone is going to get their legs broken over this fact."

Charles raised his eyebrows at that. "Then let's not leave him waiting," he said.

"He's having coffee in the kitchen right now," she said, leading the way.

Charles nodded, though he was silent as he and Scott followed K, clearly reaching out to brush the newcomer's mind and falling into a frown that he pushed aside into a smile when they did reach Warren.

"Warren, I'd like you to meet Charles and Scott," K said, gesturing to each of them in turn.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Warren," Charles said as the little group arrived. "I'm Professor Charles Xavier. I hope that you will find this school is a safe haven as well as an institute."

Warren got to his feet with a polite smile. "It's nice to meet you, professor," he said. "I don't know if anyone called ahead-"

"Don't worry about it," Charles said warmly. "I'm more than happy to have you here." He paused, then added, "And no, I will not change my mind because of your mutation. In fact, I'd be delighted if you could show me."

"Everyone here is a mutant," Scott added. "So … you're among friends."

Warren frowned as he looked between the three of them before he let out a heavy sigh, almost resigned as he adjusted something at his chest and shoulders. And to K and Scott's surprise - the next moment, two large, feathered wings unfolded behind Warren, who looked like he was just waiting for the backlash with an almost defiant look.

" _Ljuvlig,"_ K said, smiling lightly. "Can you fly?"

Warren nodded. "Yeah, they're more or less like bird's wings," he said.

"Absolutely beautiful," she said, smiling a little wider.

"You have an extraordinary gift," Charles agreed.

Warren looked between the three of them with raised eyebrows, then shifted slightly, shaking out his wings a bit more after they had been stuffed in for so long. "Thank you."

K took a few steps forward and again, gave his arm a squeeze as she passed him by. "I did tell you that you can relax. I meant it."

"Scott, if you would please show Warren where he can take his things. And I'm sure Mr. Drake would help you show him around and get acquainted once he returns from his run," Charles said, waiting for Scott to take the lead and show Warren around before he made his way to where K was sitting with her coffee.

"Tell me," he said slowly, "what happened when you met him at the door."

"He was waiting with his bags, and the car left as soon as he looked over his shoulder. Or as soon as the door wasn't slammed in his face," K said. "So who am I talking to?"

Charles finally let his irritation show as he leaned forward. "It seems his parents simply decided to leave him here when they learned about my school," he said, his eyes narrowed. "They have been ashamed of his mutation since he was born. I'm afraid physical mutations simply… do not allow their owners the luxury of easing into life before this prejudice sinks in."

"Anyone who thought  _that_ mutation was anything but beautiful would have to be a freakin demon," K said.

"Nonetheless," Charles said, "That is his reality. What I saw of his most recent memories of his parents was shame, anger, and hatred against one young man."

"Charles," K said slowly. "Are you actually telling me this for a reason or is this an exercise in irritation?"

Charles paused and watched her for a moment before he let out his breath. "I admit; I  _am_ more irritated than I expected to be. When I started this school, I expected to be helping students whose families might not understand. But to have Scott and then Bobby as my first students…"

"I think … I have a way to handle this," K said. "I'll go have a word with his parents. I'm sure there's a metric ton of paperwork they need to sign, isn't there?"

Charles smiled lightly. "Yes, of course there is."

"So … I'll do a little digging on them when I get there. If you  _happen_ to have a session with Warren in the meantime and find that he missed anything he wanted to keep - let me know."

"Keep your telepathic ear to the ground, then," Charles said with a smirk.

"For once, I will," she promised. She gave Charles a significant look then headed out to the boathouse to see what Jan had come up with in the line of nicer looking clothes. She took all of twenty minutes fixing her hair and makeup before she slipped on a pair of heels and made her way back up to the house to get the paperwork from Charles - and a set of keys to something more appropriate than the pickup truck.

Of course, she wasn't more than five steps in the front door when Bobby let her know that he and Logan were back from their run with a too-loud 'woah'.

K stopped and turned on her heel neatly then came their way with the keys to the car in her hand. "Did you have a nice run?"

"Who cares about the run?" Logan asked, smirking at her as he gave her an obvious slow once over. "I wanna know who's gonna die."

"No one is going to  _die_ ," K said, shaking her head before she stole a kiss. "Probably. Most likely not gonna die. Maybe."

"Very convincing," he said, smirking a little wider.

"I'm just going to get a little paperwork handled," she defended.

"Uh huh. Since when do you do paperwork?"

"Since Scott and Bobby got a new classmate," K said before she turned to Bobby, who had been watching the whole exchange. "You have a new boy to play with."

"O...kay," Bobby said slowly. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around why a dress means murder?"

"You're not old enough for me to answer that," K said with a straight face.

"Oh come on."

K smiled his way. "No, you're learning to be good guys, aren't you? So … go find your new friend and make nice."

"I'm goin' with," Logan said, after he snatched the keys out of her hand.

"Don't need the help," she said, though she didn't try too hard to get the keys back - not willing to fight with him while she was trying to stay looking nice. "And you aren't dressed up enough."

"I'm your idiot driver," Logan said, smiling crookedly. "So let's go."

She couldn't help but smile at that and didn't argue it at all as they headed for the garage. "Please tell Scott we had an errand, okay?" she said to Bobby as the two of them headed out.

"Do I tell him about the murder dress, or…"

"He won't know what you're talkin' about," Logan said.

"O...kay," Bobby said, shaking his head to himself. "You guys have the weirdest family, you know that?"

"Don't know what  _you're_ talkin' about," Logan called back just before the door closed.

Bobby shook his head once more before he simply rushed off to try and find Scott, eventually running into him upstairs where the dorms were with the new guy - who had big, white wings.

"This day just keeps getting weirder," Bobby blurted out.

"And this is Bobby," Scott said dryly.

"Did you know your parents are plotting murder right now?"

"They are not, Bobby," Scott said. "Don't exaggerate."

"I'm pretty sure they are," Bobby said.

Scott shook his head. "I'm sure they're not," he said. "Things have been quiet around here anyway." He paused, shook his head, and then instead gestured between Warren and Bobby. "Bobby, introduce yourself. I'm just going to-"

"Yeah, they already left," Bobby said.

Scott frowned at that as Warren asked, "Does this happen a lot?"

"No, but the weird stuff that happens here with  _alarming frequency_ would knock your socks off," Bobby said.

Scott shook his head at Bobby. "I was just telling Warren about the team," he prompted, trying to get off the topic of who his parents might or might not be murdering.

"Right," Bobby said. "Because that's way more interesting than the fact that your mom has a murder dress."

"A what?"

"Yeah, all glammed up and your dad immediately assumes she's off for murder."

"Should I-"

Scott cut Warren off. "It's fine," he said. "Really."

Bobby shook his head at Scott. "That whole family is insane," he told Warren. "I mean, they're also a laugh riot, but still."

"Says the guy taking self defense tips from both of them," Scott pointed out.

"From the murder parents, yeah," Bobby said.

"They're not-" Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, the only time I've ever seen them get worked up was over  _bad_ guys. Kidnappers, murderers - so stop trying to paint it up like…" He shook his head. "You're ridiculous."

"Okay, but if we read about a mysterious death in the newspaper tomorrow morning…"

Scott rolled his eyes. "We won't," he said shortly before he turned to Warren. "Right. So, I still owe you a tour."

Warren raised his eyebrows and looked between the two of them before he nodded. "Yeah," he said. "And an explanation, I think."

Scott ran a hand down his face and shook his head. "It's a long story," he said. "Mostly involving my parents both being hunted for their genetics. They can handle themselves in a fight -  _which is why_ -" He glared at Bobby. "-I've asked them to help me with this team and with training so we can be just as good."

"It does sound interesting," Warren admitted.

That finally got Scott to relax a bit and smile Warren's way. "It's still in the early stages, but I think it could be something great," he said, leading the way down the hall as he did his best to fill Warren in on what the team consisted of thus far.

* * *

It was late when Logan and K did finally return - papers in hand for Charles, though they were all bundled up in an attache case when they dropped them on Charles' desk. But more telling than that was the fact that they were both more than a little tipsy - laughing, and stealing long kisses as they made their way toward the front door from the office after giving Charles his papers. Even if they weren't really doing the whole upright thing anywhere near as well as they usually did.

The boys had ordered pizza in their absence and had made a movie and game night out of it - getting to know each other a little better beyond Bobby's introduction of "murder" cries. And they were actually getting along, trading stories and polishing off two large pizzas and half of another one.

But all three paused when they saw Logan and K, and Bobby had to break into a laugh. "Okay, I was wrong. I think your parents just decided to get out without  _minors_ around."

"Shut up, Bobby," Scott said, shaking his head, though he made his way over to both of them anyway. "What… how are you two even drunk?" he asked, in obvious disbelief.

"Took some doin'," Logan chuckled, but it was clear both of them were in high spirits.

"Didn't mean to interrupt your boys night," K said, half covering her mouth and grinning.

"That's alright," Scott said. "Bobby's been telling us you two were going out to murder someone, so, you know, the proof against that is nice."

K started to  _giggle_ at that, and Logan shook his head slowly. "Nah, just put the fear of God into someone."

"And then drank a little bit," K said.

"A little bit." Scott shook his head. "So, who was it? Department? Pearson?"

"Who was what?" K asked, and both of them frowned at him as if it was an insane concept.

"The… person you put the fear of God into," Scott said. "You  _just_ said that's what you did."

"Yeah, but it's not … don't worry about it, Scotty," Logan said as he dropped a hand on Scott's shoulder. "Doesn't matter right now."

Scott shook his head, though he couldn't help but smile when he saw how tightly wound around each other they were. "Alright, well… I'll see you both in the morning then."

"You boys have fun," K said, though the two of them only made it a few steps away from them before Logan picked her up and tossed her halfway over his shoulder - which just had her breaking down laughing at him.

…..

Translated from Swedish:

 _Ljuvlig_ \- Lovely


	20. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAST!!!!

Warren had been a little slow to warm up to the group during classes and exercises, and to all of their dismay, he still seemed overly self conscious of his wings, even for as lovely as they were. He was in awe of Scott's concussive blasts, and entertained to no end by Bobby's ice, though that could have been more Bobby himself than his powers.

They were all starting to get into a good pattern when Charles approached them at breakfast one morning with news of yet another young mutant at risk.

"What's the story?" Bobby asked, looking more interested than before - thought that might have been down to the fact that he was doing much better in training and was itching to get to stretch his wings as Iceman.

"He's been doing fairly well in his High School career," Charles said. "Football star, top grades, very popular, however - it seems that someone else has noticed his talents as well and has taken a rather less than charitable outlook on the young man."

"That could apply to almost any mutant in the world right now," Warren pointed out with his arms crossed. "It's not like we have a good rep."

"Well in his case, he's being pointed toward secret labs to steal experiments of questionable saftey," Charles said.

"Wait, really?" Scott said, his eyes wide behind his glasses.

Bobby, on the other hand, clapped his hands together. "Sounds like a world-saving job for the X-Men to me."

"It's certainly a world saving event for him," Charles said. "The people that have been manipulating him have kidnapped his parents to use as leverage."

"When do we leave," Scott said in a tone that wasn't a question, already headed out.

"As soon as you three are ready to go," Charles replied.

"Judging by Scott's face, I'm going to guess that means we left yesterday," Bobby said, tipping his head toward Scott, who was clearly ready to go put the training to use, jaw locked and all.

Charles watched Scott for a moment but nodded his head in agreement. "Haste would be best," he agreed.

The three boys didn't waste time before they got changed - for the first time in the uniforms that Wasp had sent over. They were just the first, she'd said, promising more soon, but still, it was the first time that the three of them had really looked like a team.

Not that any of them were thinking  _too_ much about that. It was also their first mission, after all.

"We'll be going to a hidden base," Charles told them. "I've gathered at least that much from the young man - he prefers to be called 'Hank'."

"Do you know where his parents are, or is that something we'll have to ask him?" Scott asked. "I'm just wondering if this is a two-part mission or if we need two different teams…"

"They too, are at this base," Charles said. "It belongs to a megalomaniac that calls himself 'El Conquistador'." He paused. "If it  _were_ two parts, how would you break it up, Scott?"

Scott paused and then shrugged. "We're not experienced enough - or big enough - as a team to break up that small. But… I know my dad and K would absolutely get his parents out." He let out a breath. "But we can get them both out, I'm sure," he added, looking toward his teammates with a smirk.

"Sure we can; we're the X-Men," Bobby said, puffing out his chest.

"How do you even know where to look for them?" Warren asked.

Charles smirked and gestured for them to follow him on the way to the hangar, and then diverted to show them one of the sealed rooms that they hadn't looked into yet. "I call it Cerebro," he said. "It's a device of my own invention that boosts my abilities so that I can search for individuals in a world of mutants and very loud minds." He encouraged them to look around the room a bit. "I had been monitoring him along with a half dozen others in that area when his signal became much weaker than it had been, so I used Cerebro to find out what, if any, danger he was in."

Warren's eyebrows were high, as were the other boys', as he looked around. "So… is this how you found Scott and Bobby? I know they didn't just walk up to the door like I did."

"More or less, yes," Charles said.

"Still," Bobby said, looking around the room. "That's… a lot of mutants and just one machine."

"It is, but that's why I have only been reaching out to those in need," Charles said. "To go for every single one in an area might draw unwanted attention to someone who is doing well enough without the help. As much as I hate to say it."

"Makes sense to me," Bobby said. "I mean, I'd've liked to stay under the radar…"

"Well, no offense professor - this is great - but this new guy needs our help now," Scott said.

"Of course, Scott," Charles said. "I'll join you for this first run and monitor to see if there are any obstacles you'll need to address while you liberate the McCoy family." He paused. "Of course, if you can recover the device, we can anonymously put it back to its rightful owners as well."

"Right," Scott said with a nod, already leading the way down to the hangar.

Still, even with the mission they had ahead of them, Scott couldn't help but grin when they arrived and there was a jet waiting for them. He couldn't have gotten his pilot's license at a better time.

"What happened to the Mr. Serious look, Cyclops?" Bobby teased as he climbed into the jet, gesturing toward Scott's complete lack of a poker face.

Scott shook his head and tried to better school his expression. "Just… nice to get to use my pilot's license."

"Oh, now we get to hear about the  _pilot's license_ ," Bobby said, shaking his head. "Scott, you never told me you had a  _pilot's license_. What's that, Scotty? You're a  _pilot_?"

Scott rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "Shut up, Bobby."

Bobby was snickering to himself as they loaded up, and he was sure to make a big show out of buckling in. "Warren, you're lucky you have your own wings."

Warren couldn't stop his smirk as he shook his wings out. "You'll have to find your own way down, then."

Scott rolled his eyes again at that, turning his attention to the sky rather than his teammates. Which was really more fun anyway, since the jet the professor had for the team was top of the line, and he couldn't help but get excited about it.

"So, Scott - how does this line up to the  _other_ planes you've flown?" Bobby had to tease.

"Honestly? Handles smoother and has a better acceleration," Scott said with a smirk. "At least… compared to the planes. The other  _jet_ …" He smirked harder. "Can't beat the Quinjet."

"Wait…." Bobby turned his way fully. "When … who let you fly a Quinjet?" He stopped and shook his head. "Wait. No. It was Wasp, wasn't it? You and your weird connections …"

Scott smirked. "No, it was Captain America," he said without looking over his shoulder. "I told you; he and my dad go back. He stopped by to say hi."

"Oh my God, Scott," Bobby said before he started laughing - and threw his hands up. "You have to … how does this stuff happen to you?"

"I don't know, but I'm not complaining," Scott said, breaking into a laugh of his own.

The boys passed a few lighthearted jabs and jokes around on the flight out, but it wasn't long at all before they got to Illinois, and once they were off the jet, the tone of the little group shifted. For all their training, they were still new at this - at actual, real world situations.

"Do your best, boys," Charles said. "I'll be here waiting and monitoring the situation. I have full faith in you."

"Thanks, Professor X!" Bobby called over his shoulder as they headed out - following the direction that Charles set for them as to where they could find this new mutant.

With the professor's help, then, it didn't take long to find where the family was being held. The young man was trying to make a break for it with lasers being shot (and missing him) from several angles. The boys shared a look before they split, with Bobby and Scott icing and blasting toward the lasers while Warren moved to catch up to Hank.

"Don't panic; we're here to help," he called out in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.

The burly young man skidded to a halt, his arms out wide for balance before he pushed his glasses up his nose and then ducked down as a small explosion echoed behind them and the group of guards all dressed alike came rushing out after them. "Oh, are you now?" he asked.

"The rest of my team is trying to stop the lasers," Warren said, gesturing toward the small explosion. "I'd bet that was Sc- Cyclops."

He raised his eyebrows at that, then turned back toward where the fight was going down. "Then I can't leave without my parents." Just that quickly, he darted back toward the fight.

He was just in time to see Bobby finish icing up the path for some men to slid right into Scott's optic blast, and Bobby spun to face Hank. "Oh, hi. We're the X-Men. Come to the rescue and all that. You're welcome!" he said, grinning widely.

"I don't know who you think you are, but it's patently clear that you've come to expedite my release," Hank said. "Therefore, I shall join you in the fray." At that, Hank moved in toward the crowd of armed men and simply started bashing them - throwing them bodily into each other as Warren swooped in to help move them along.

Bobby raised both eyebrows and then smirked. "Okay. Excellent. Forthwith and all that," he said, jumping in to fight alongside the new guy.

Scott was working on his precision shots to start with - blasting the weapons out of the guard's hands as Bobby froze them to the ground, or in some cases, enclosed them entirely with ice.

But when the man calling himself El Conquistador, according to what Scott could hear from the men around him, started to head toward Hank with what looked like a three-pronged cattle prod, complete with arcing sparks of electricity, he had more than enough of playing nice or fairly and blasted him back through a wall, leaving a decent hole as evidence of where the man had gone through, too.

As the man flew backward, he hit the oddly-shaped device that was resting on a pedestal nearby and it started screeching loudly. The fresh team of X-Men were transfixed as they watched the guards scatter and the man that had directed them tried to get the device under control, until it was clear it was time for them to get out. And fast.

 _Did you find the young man in trouble_? Charles projected out as the team got clear of the building.

Scott turned in time to see the bulky form of what had to be McCoy the younger, rushing out with a man and a woman just before the building was engulfed in flames.

"He got out!" Bobby called back, still not sure how to handle the telepathic lines too well. "He stayed back to get his parents out. They're all clear."

Scott nodded at that and then jogged back over to where the McCoy family was to fall into step with them. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"More or less," Hank replied, though it was clear he was a bit shaken. "And you?"

"I may have lost my temper a little, but other than that…" Scott shook his head and then waved them forward. "Let's get you home."

"I suppose you have a mode of transportation large enough to safely accommodate a crowd of this size?"

"Would a jet work?" Scott asked, unable to stop his smirk.

Hank paused and gave him an appraising sort of look. "I don't believe there is a suitable runway for such a craft nearby."

"We parked it close by… sort of used the field as a runway," Scott admitted.

"Well if it can survive that kind of landing with no ill effects …"

"I can make a vertical takeoff, too," Scott said. "It's a good jet."

Hank raised his eyebrows at that. "Then I'd like to see this craft." He turned to his parents. "This gent says he can give us a lift home …"

Hank's mother gave Scott a clear once over. "I'm … not sure. I think we've had enough of the costumes for one lifetime."

Scott gave her a sheepish smile. "It's supposed to be a uniform," he said. "We're - my team - we're trying to put together a group of mutants doing good so the world won't be so scared of us."

"Teenaged heroes," Hank's father said. "Huh."

"The people willing to use mutants, like you just saw… they don't care about age," Scott explained as they walked. "So we're not going to wait to grow up to fight back."

Mr. McCoy nodded at that. "You've made your point, my boy."

Scott nodded at that with a small smile. "So," he said slowly. "Right. Let's get you home."

The flight to their little suburban home was a quick one, and once everyone was changed into more normal clothing choices, Charles led his group in to speak with the McCoy family. "I'd like to offer you a place at my school," he said. "It's specifically for those that are genetically gifted to learn to control and use their powers more efficiently while getting a traditional education, of course."

"We don't have a football team, but seeing how you handled yourself in a fight, I bet you could be an X-Men," Bobby put in.

"I only joined the team by accident anyhow," Hank replied with a sheepish shrug.

"How do you even join a team on accident?" Bobby asked, one eyebrow high.

"I kicked a field goal - from the far end of the field," Hank said.

Bobby let out a low whistle. "That'd do it."

"Well, if you wanted to be an X-Man, it wouldn't be an accident," Scott said with an understated smirk. "Bobby's right - you would fit in well."

"Joining the team is not a requirement to enroll at the school," Charles put in, putting a bit of a damper on the fast pace to give the McCoys the time to process it all.

"Well the choice is up to you, of course," Hank's mother said. "We don't want to hold you back, but I am concerned with how easily this … Conquistador fellow found you."

"That, too, is part of why I founded my school," Charles said. "I want to give mutants a place of sanctuary."

"And what kind of security for your students do you offer?" Mr. McCoy asked.

Charles folded his hands in front of himself as he considered his answer. "I am a telepath," he said after a moment. "That means I can 'sense' intruders if they were to approach the school. And I have used my telepathy in my own defense to shield myself from their perception. I can do the same for my students." He took a deep breath. "Beyond that, I have invested heavily in security - you have seen the jet; my systems are just as sophisticated. And our students have the option of learning self-defense from a mutant couple we have living on campus who have been trained in that aspect of things." He gestured with both hands. "I assure you - I am doing everything in my power to make my school safe."

The three McCoy's took a moment to converse privately, and after a short discussion, they returned with both parents looking a bit nervous, but also confident. "Then I shall pack my bags, if you'd like to do this sooner than later," Hank said before he cleared his throat. "I'm afraid there may have been a few people in my school that were growing rather suspicious of me as it was."

"Do you want a hand?" Scott offered.

"That would be delightful," Hank said, gesturing for Scott to help him. "I don't have terribly much, but there are a few tomes that I would be loathe to leave behind."

Scott nodded at that and followed Hank, packing away what he was handed. "I'm scott, by the way," he said. "I know we were sort of introduced, but…" He trailed off, shrugged, and rubbed the back of his neck. "We thought it would be a good idea to use codenames in public. After all, you've seen what happens when people know who to target."

"Yes, well, as it turns out my team already had a nickname of me of sorts that would likely suffice should I join."

"Yeah?" Scott smiled Hank's way. "What's that?"

"Beast," he said simply.

Scott tipped his head to the side and then smirked. "Doesn't suit you."

"That's all a matter of perception, I'm afraid." Hank smirked and held up his hand. "I'm afraid my extremities have likened me to a gorilla in most folk's eyes."

Scott raised his eyebrows at the admittedly, well, beast-like hands, but then smirked. "That's alright. I've got this visor-" He tapped the side of it. "-that a friend of mine had made up. She designed the uniforms too. Why do you think I'm Cyclops?"

"Well you're certainly not a fifty foot monster of old," Hank said.

"No, but I can't stop my eyes from emitting a beam," Scott said. "I had these glasses that helped, and now this visor…" He shook his head. "Let's just say I relate. And Warren is still self-conscious about those wings."

"So would I be correct in assuming that the only one of our group without a physical expression of their mutation is Bobby?"

"Well, he sometimes ices up his entire body," Scott admitted. "I think the professor would be the better example. Since it's all telepathic."

"I'll admit to a curiosity on why so many mutations are physical …"

"The professor has plenty of theories on the evolution of man and peaceful coexistence," Scott said. "If you're interested in that kind of thing…"

"How could you not be?"

Scott couldn't help but smirk at that. "I've had a lot of good conversations with the professor on peaceful coexistence," he said. "I really like his ideas, to be honest. I think it's a good philosophy to live by."

"Yes, I agree," Hank said. "The little bit that he discussed with us earlier was compelling enough of an argument to want to at least give it a shot."

Scott grinned at that as he handed Hank his bag. "Then I think you'll fit in just fine."

"And it's just the four of us thus far?" Hank shook his head slowly. "I was hoping for a healthy number of the fairer sex, to be honest."

Scott couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, we don't have a rule against girls - it's just that so far it's been us guys. But if we get the chance to save a damsel in distress, I'll let you know."

Hank chuckled at that as the two of them headed back to where the rest of the X-Men were waiting with Charles and Hank's parents. It was a quick and bright kind of farewell, with a quiet promise to keep in touch before the group headed out leaving Mr. & Mrs. McCoy behind.


	21. Old Friends

It was a couple weeks before Thanksgiving when Farrah had written to Scott to let him know that she was going to be 'in the general vicinity-ish' of where he was to visit family.

_I've got my license, and Dad has okayed a visit as long as it doesn't go on for like … all weekend. He knows his family is crazy. He doesn't want us to be crazy too. SO! I'll be by with my sister … you know. Chaperone. Let me know if it's not okay or if you and your Dad have somewhere else to be, okay? - XOXO Farrah_

Of course, Scott was thrilled with the idea - and had to endure plenty of teasing from K after he'd written back to let Farrah know that he'd meet up with her at the coffee place in Salem Center "so we can have another coffee date."

But when he actually headed out when the time came, to his dismay, it seemed like the rest of his team wanted to come along as well.

"Shotgun!" Bobby called out. "I've got shotgun!"

"You can't - this isn't a field trip!" Scott said, shaking his head and exasperated. "You don't even know Farrah."

"We also don't know her sister, but …"

"I am  _not_ setting you up with her sister," Scott said dryly.

"Ha! Like I need your help, Scotty!" Bobby was in a great mood, grinning ear to ear. "Come on, one of us oughta be able to distract the big sister for you…"

"One can always use a good wingman," Hank added with a smirk.

"In that case, I get to be the distraction," Warren said, adjusting his shoulders slightly where his wings were hidden for the moment.

Scott let out a little groan, but since the guys were all already piled into the car, there really wasn't much he could do about it - so all four of them wound up at the coffee place when he went to meet up with Farrah.

Of course, when Scott got there, Farrah was already in a spot that was equivalent to the one she always used in their old coffee shop. Her hair was longer - slightly - and somewhat more tamed than he remembered it being, but when she spotted him, she outright grinned at him. "Hey stranger!"

He couldn't help but grin back at her as he crossed the shop. "Hey yourself," he said. "How are you? You look great," he said, then immediately went pink when he realized it.

She smiled a little wider and stood up to wrap him up in a tight hug. "You too. Are you ever going to stop growing? You're so tall!"

He shook his head, still a little pink around the edges. "Can't help it," he said. He paused, smirked, and added, "You're just not keeping up."

"Um, excuse me, Caramel Mocha - which by the way, I got you one - but I have grown exactly as long as it took me to be perfect. So you … are just taking longer."

Scott shook his head at her. "Learned that from Bridget, didn't you?" he teased.

"Um … maaay-be," she said with a bright smile. "She was right about a lot of things. So … why not that?"

Scott smirked. "Well, I guess I have to agree - mostly because she's still dating my dad."

"Ooh, right! How's that going after all? I thought she was hilarious, so you know. I'm biased." She paused and tipped her head. "Though … they're both so little …"

Scott laughed lightly. "I thought you said that meant they were perfect."

"Well. Perfect for themselves. I don't know about perfect for each other," she bumped his shoulder. "I don't know your dad very well."

"They are," Scott said. "I'd be surprised…" He paused and glanced over his shoulder at his friends, who seemed to all be trying to talk to Farrah's sister in their own ways. He shook his head and turned back to Farrah. "Honestly, I'd be surprised if she doesn't end up joining the family soon," he told her low.

She leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with trouble. "Oh, re-eally?"

He couldn't help but laugh at her excitement as he nodded. "Really. I'll send you an invitation when it happens."

"So how did it happen? Did they just … totally hit it off?" Her eyes got wider. "Were they seeing each other and you didn't  _know_ about it? She's secretly sneaky, you know. I wouldn't put it past her."

Scott laughed and shook his head. "Nothing like that," he said, though he wasn't sure how to explain it without talking about  _everything_ related to the department and… well… everything else. "It just sort of happened," he said. "She actually came over to help me…" He gestured to his glasses. "Still having issues."

She nodded at that. "Yeah, I wasn't going to say anything. The glow is kinda cool, you know?" She smiled at him. "You've got that natural glow to you, Scott. It's amazing."

Scott flushed bright red and rubbed the back of his neck. "Right. I forgot… the glasses…"

She reached over to rest her hand on his. "Don't freak out on me now! Come on, we're having fun, right? I really do think it's cool, and you can tell me about it whenever you're ready to. NO pressure for sweet boys, right?"

Scott couldn't help but flush a little deeper, but he nodded all the same. "It's just … a long story," he admitted.

Farrah rested her chin in the palm of her hand with a little smile. "I've got time."

Scott watched her for a long moment, honestly wondering how she would react. She was … he didn't want her to suddenly hate him - not that he thought she would…

"Do… do you know … you've seen in the news about mutants, right?" Scott said at last.

She nodded brightly, her eyebrows high on her head. "Mm-hmm. There was a girl in my english lit class that claimed she could talk to insects? But it turned out she was just popping too many caffeine pills to get through the exams?" she narrowed her eyes. "So disappointing."

Scott frowned for a second and then let out his breath. "Well, I … the glow. That's mine. My mutation, that is."

She gave him a crooked smile at that. "Scott. Do you really think that I didn't notice that from time to time back in Oregon?"

"I had a better handle on it back then?" he offered, his shoulders shrugged up.

"But you still glowed sometimes - and you were more than the usual amount of upset when those creeps broke your glasses," she said. "It makes sense."

"Well… yeah," he said quietly. "I'm - well - I'm still trying to figure it out.

She let out a breath and then moved closer to kiss his cheek. "Okay. Good."

He blinked at her in surprise for a moment and then smiled lightly. "Good?"

She nodded slowly, her eyes wide. "Mm-hmm," she said. "What were you expecting I'd say? I'm not a  _jerk_."

"No, well… it's just that… I can't control it and the glow sometimes turns into a beam so it's not exactly like it's safe…"

"But you're trying to learn," she said with a shrug. "I've read about people that manifest and totally freak out - they don't get any help … that … now that's rough. You're working on it, so … what's the problem?" She tipped her head to the side and picked up her iced coffee to take a long drink, watching him.

"No problem, I guess," Scott said, shaking his head. He took a drink of his own caramel mocha and then paused. "That's how my dad met Bridget - by the way. She came to help me."

"Did she kick the crap out of anyone?" Farrah asked. "Because I saw her throw a guy out of the coffee shop once, thought she was going for distance."

Scott smirked. "Yeah she did," he said. "Not everyone is as nice as you are about mutations." He paused. "That's why we have to move a lot. Dad's one too."

"Well," she paused and mulled over her words carefully. "It's not something you chose, right? It's like … well it's like my curly hair. I didn't ask for it, but I have to deal with it. Same thing, just … the jealous types can't go down to the salon and just get a perm to compensate."

Scott couldn't help but laugh at that before he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "You're… you're amazing. Thanks."

"Missed you too," she said, smirking crookedly at him. "So … what do we do now?"

"Well, you could tell me how things have been at that all-girls school you're going to…"

"It's so boring," she said, rolling her eyes. "No sense of humor on most of them and then the rest of them are completely crazy." She shook her head. "I so don't belong there."

"Yeah, I can't imagine you in a place with no sense of humor," Scott said with a smirk.

"So what do you do for fun around here, you know. Since your dad is so  _distracted_."

Scott shook his head at that. "Actually, those guys over there-" He gestured toward his friends. "-go to my school too. We've got sort of an obstacle course that we're constantly trying to one up each other running."

"That sounds like fun," she said.

"It is. Bobby cheats every time, though. Unless Warren is cheating."

"So it's a contest of who cheats the most? Awesome."

Scott shook his head. "It's not supposed to be, but…"

"But it's a contest of who cheats the most."

"You'd probably fit in great at the school," Scott said, shaking his head.

"Only if Bridget is still making the coffee," she sang out before she grinned at him. "Or is she too busy?"

"You're obsessed," he teased.

"Oh, come on! The whole time I knew her not  _once_ did she go out on a date. And she just … runs off with you two? Come on!" Farrah was grinning broadly. "Really? I have a right! A right to know these things!" She slapped the table for emphasis then broke down laughing.

Scott shook his head at her but couldn't stop grinning. "I already promised you'd get an invitation."

"You missed me, didn't you?" she teased. "You can just admit it and we can leave your friends flirting with my sister for a little bit."

"I wouldn't say no," Scott said, still unable to hide his smile.

"So, let's take a little walk," Farrah suggested. "It's stupid cold out here, but … I suppose there are some charms to the cold weather. Sure isn't a temperate rainforest."

"I like it," Scott said as he got to his feet and offered her a hand up. "But I grew up in Alaska."

"Of course you did, Alaska, New York, Oregon, you're all over the place. No one can impress you, Caramel Mocha."

"That's not…" Scott shook his head. "It's not a competition."

"I'm just teasing," she said, taking a hold of his arm. "I missed you too, Mr. World-Traveller."

Scott shook his head at that but didn't argue the point - instead giving her the slightly watered-down and less death-defying version of events leading to K and Logan getting together as they walked until they wound up well into the afternoon.

"So, it was great to see you again," Farrah said when they  _finally_ got back to the coffee shop, though they were both dragging their feet as they got closer.

"Yeah," Scott said, nodding quietly. "Let's try and do this again, right?"

"I think that's a great idea," she agreed, biting her lip for just a moment before she hesitantly leaned forward and stole a kiss.

Scott grinned even after Farrah had left with her sister, and he didn't think he was going to stop - at least, until he got to the car and the guys were already snickering.

….

As soon as Thanksgiving was over, it was clear that Logan was more than a little distracted. But not in the 'not paying attention' way. More like the hyper attentive way. Nothing was getting past him and he wasn't really in the mood for any joking around. With anyone. He'd gotten into a fast habit of almost constantly checking to know where K was at all times, and he wasn't letting Scott off the hook any easier either. It was the first time that Scott could remember Logan watching  _that_ closely.

It didn't help Scott relax at all when he realized in one of their morning sessions exactly how  _tense_ Logan was through the whole thing. Like he was waiting for a fight to crop up out of nowhere.

It was clear to Scott that in spite of whatever it was that was bothering Logan, the heavy, anxious attention was already starting to get to K a little bit. Particularly since to her, there was no reference point on why he was so anxious.

It had taken Scott a little while to figure it out, simply because he had thought at first that it might be related to the department or something. But when he saw the calendar - where he had marked Logan's birthday after the fiasco of last year - he knew he had to clue K in or she would get frustrated.

"It's his birthday," he told her after Logan had left the two of them working on some breakfast that morning.

She turned his way with a little frown. "What are you talking about?"

"His birthday is tomorrow, and every year, Sabretooth tries to do something to hurt him," Scott explained. "Last year, he nearly killed me."

For a long moment, K just stared back at him, lips parted as she processed it. "Well. That … puts a severe damper on the fun." She let out a breath and shook her head. "So why the hell didn't he warn me about it?"

Scott shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't know about it either until Sabretooth was on top of me," he admitted. "But… I don't know. He probably doesn't want anyone to know. I just thought you should… know why he's acting strange."

"That's idiotic," she said under her breath. "If I  _know_ he's going to come sniffing around, maybe I can be prepared." K drew in a deep breath and thought it over, slowly nodding to herself. "Okay."

"Okay…?"

"Okay, I can work with this," K said, then slowly turned on her heel to head toward the boathouse. "Don't worry your pretty head about it!"

"Shouldn't I?" Scott pointed out as he rushed to catch up. "I mean, you're not the only one who should be looking out…"

"I'm not worried about you," K said with a little smirk. "One second with those glasses off and you've sent him into orbit." She shrugged. "I just … need to get something out of my bag, that's all. In case he sees me before you or Logan."

"And … I'll keep an eye out too," Scott said.

"I know you will," K said, taking a moment to turn and then pop on her toes to kiss his cheek. "You're really good at watching out for him."

"That's what family does," Scott said.

"Not as often as I'd like to see, but that's what it's supposed to do," she agreed. "You can walk with me if you think the boogeyman is gonna jump out."

"I'll blast the boogeyman if that's the case - and show him to Dad as a birthday present."

"That sounds appropriate to me," she said. "Won't take long, and if I get a whiff -I'll actually  _tell you_. With words."

"Novel," Scott couldn't help but tease lightly.

She shook her head at him and the two of them headed down to the boathouse, with K muttering about how the 'y' chromosome was troublesome all the way. But there was no trace of Sabretooth, and once they were inside, it didn't take K long to get what she was looking for - a dark-bladed dagger that she slipped into her boot near her ankle. "All set now, handsome, we can head back up and I'll pull things out of your Dad … make him use words. Try to get him to relax. Just a little bit."

"I"m just sorry he didn't tell you," Scott said.

"If I had to guess - and I do - then I'd imagine he was hoping it wasn't going to be an issue this year. That, or he was hoping to head him off at the pass and deal with it himself before anyone else could get involved," K said. "Which is stupidly optimistic when you take into account Creed's record." She shrugged it off. "I'll deal with Logan. Don't worry."

When they got back to the house, she gave his arm a little squeeze and headed off to find Charles, already deciding that he should have an inkling about what  _might_ be brewing. Of course, Charles wasn't overly thrilled to hear about it, but he wasn't too concerned either.

"We have the means to handle even this threat," Charles said.

"If you mean using the kids, I'm gonna have to say no," K said. "But if you mean keeping them tucked away safe and giving us a little free room to move, then yes. That will work."

"Does Logan know you plan to assist?" Charles asked.

"No, but seeing as he didn't tell me it was an issue to begin with, I'm not too bugged. He'll figure it out quick enough."

She headed out, not looking overly worried, though it was clear she was gearing up for a fight, which left Charles to pull in his students to explain to them what he could about the developing situation.

So the boys were more than prepared for a conflict - or so they thought - when Bobby suggested they do a patrol. Just for security sake. And since Warren could fly out of harm's reach and Scott was sure he could blast Creed into the next county if need be, they were confident that they'd be fine.

Logan had just come in from yet another patrol of his own - Hank had played lookout to know when that happened - and it was clear that the longer that his birthday wore on, the more tense he was just waiting for something to go horribly wrong.

"It's no wonder your Dad has a hard time every year if he's always this tense," Warren said to Scott. "He looks like a spring is ready to break or something."

"Hey, for good reason. I'm telling you - this guy would have killed me last year if Dad hadn't stopped him," Scott said with a frown.

"And he's got a problem with your mom too?" Hank asked.

"Separately…. But now that they're together, it's kind of… exacerbated things," Scott admitted.

"Hank is totally rubbing off on you, Cyclops," Bobby said dryly.

"Might do you some good to read a book, Iceman," Scott shot back.

"Okay, okay, so tense. More tense. Yikes."

They were on the far end of the loop when Scott realized that all of the sounds of the forest had dropped off to nothing. He slowed down and looked around the area as his stomach dropped. "Guys," he said quietly, which was enough to get the others to at least stop and turn to face him.

The group slowly looked around themselves, all of them realizing that something was very wrong, but almost as soon as Warren decided to take flight and get help - everything went south. He had only managed to flutter his wings lightly in preparation to take off when he was jerked backward by the wings, leaving a trail of bent white feathers on the ground and drifting through the air to where he'd been yanked back.

All three of the other boys started, and Bobby iced up reflexively as Scott put a hand to his visor.  _Professor,_ he called out telepathically.  _We've got a problem!_

"Ain't this a little late for halloween?" Creed drawled out from somewhere deeper in the trees. "Matching spandex onesies. Kinda cute … for the kiddie crowd."

"You're the one playing games," Scott shot back, still holding a hand to his visor.

"You gonna try playin' with the big boys, kid?" Creed asked, chuckling through his own question.

"I'm not the one hiding," Scott said. "Or is that because you know you'll end up in New Jersey if you actually  _face_ me?"

A growl echoed from an entirely different direction just before Bobby let out a little 'eep' and an instant later, he was flying toward Scott as Creed threw him. Scott did what he could to try and catch Bobby, though for how hard Creed had thrown him, both boys ended up sprawled out, and Scott was swearing under his breath as he got to his feet.

"Awww, you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Creed chuckled. "Wait. You can't, can you?"

Scott glared into the trees, his hands clenched in fists and his jaw locked. "Still won't face me," he managed to spit out through his teeth.

"You're not the one I'm interested in, junior," Creed said - and it sounded like he was walking away from him. "Might want to keep closer tabs on your little playmates though. I doubt the feathered freak is doin' all that well."

Scott swore all over again as he mentally called out for the professor -  _Help me find Warren!_  - even as he started up the search himself, with both of the other boys fanning out as well.

"Hank, go get help," Scott shouted out once he picked up the trail of bent feathers.

"This stinks!" Bobby grumbled, limping slightly as he looked for Warren.

"I did try to tell you - it's not all Quinjets and Avengers."

"Yeah, but you didn't say it was psychopaths either," Bobby said, then stopped cold when he found a bloody feather. "Um ... "

Scott caught up to where Bobby was and swore again before he picked up the pace. The trail was a lot easier to follow closer to Warren, with more feathers and, worryingly, more bloody - until they found where their friend was laid out and bloody and unconscious.

"Oh man," Bobby said, looking green, though he helped Scott try and assess their friend.

Warren startled when Scott put pressure on the wound at his side. "It's … not as bad as it looks," he said quietly.

"Well, considering you look like murder walking, that's comforting," Bobby muttered.

"I heal a little faster than most people do," Warren said. "I just … need to get the bleeding to stop." He looked up at Scott. "I don't think I can fly though."

"Working on it," Scott promised. "Do you think you can walk if we can stop the bleeding?"

Warren nodded at that. "Yeah, I think so."

"Great. Bobby - just… check and see if you can find us a way out that won't put us in Sabretooth's path. We'll be right behind you."

"Um … how am I supposed to do that? The guy was creepin' in the bushes!"

"Just... " Scott let out a breath of frustration. "One of us needs to keep an eye out."

"Right. Right. I'll just … ice slide … and see if I can … I dunno. Freeze him into a very ugly ice cube if he gets in my way."

"We'll be right behind you," Scott promised. "I'll blast him if he gets close.

Bobby nodded to himself and then headed off on an ice slide, looking a lot more nervous than he had - even when the mob was after them. This wasn't a matter of normal people that were scared and reactive. This was clearly a professional super powered psycho.

Which left Scott and Warren trying to get out of the woods alone. "This was not a good patrol," Warren said quietly. "And I don't have a lot of faith that your  _parents_ will be able to do anything."

Scott shook his head as he checked to see if the bleeding was slowing down - and let out a breath when he saw that it was. "They can handle him," he said. "My dad took him down last year, and my mom… she can handle herself."

"Oh, don't tell me I missed the ceremony," Creed growled out, sounding more ticked off.

Scott straightened up and tried to figure out where Creed was coming from - so he could shield Warren too. "What do you even care?"

"Cause nothin' like that gets to happen for that little runt without my say so," Creed said.

"You're wrong," Scott said, shaking his head and scanning the trees. "Now keep your nose out of my family."

"Don't worry, boy, things go the way I want 'em to, an' you won't have to worry about that 'family' draggin' you down no more." Across the trail, the leaves rustled, and as soon as Scott turned his head that way, Creed rushed from the opposite side of the trail, fist drawn back and swinging, and Scott didn't turn quite in time to dodge.


	22. Bargaining Chips

Hank was out of breath when he got up to the house to relay what it was that was going on out in the woods, but Logan didn't really need the rundown when he caught the scent on the wind. He looked over his shoulder long enough to point a finger at K. "Stay. here."

She caught his gaze for a second, and nodded once then shook her head and hit Hank on the shoulder. "That was totally for you. You're winded. Stay safe." Before she darted off a fair distance behind Logan.

Of course, that wasn't going to work for Hank though, and he let out a breath before he turned to follow her, worrying himself about how this could go so badly.

As it turned out - Creed was predictably waiting for Logan - though he had a grip on Scott and Warren wasn't far off - both of the boys unconscious. "Seems like we've done this before," Creed said, grinning. "It's more fun with the boy in the middle, I'll give you that."

"You came here to fight me - leave the kids out of it and lets get on with it," Logan growled out. "Unless that's the best you got - beatin' on a buncha teenagers."

Creed bristled and the growl dropped lower, though Logan frowned when Creed's lip quirked up. "Now we can start negotiatin'," he said as K and Hank made their way up to where Logan was.

Logan turned, growling at K as she came to stand next to him, looking totally unperturbed by the angry growls. "I told you to stay back."

She turned his way and blinked twice. "Oh. I thought that was for Hank. He didn't listen either."

"Come on, Runt - let's make it easy … even trade," Creed growled out, jostling Scott, who started to stir at that and then frowned when he realized the position he was in. "One mouthy, skinny little teenager - for one mouthy, sassy little frail," Creed continued.

"Or," Scott said as he shook his head and tried to wake up faster, though he couldn't reach up to adjust the visor, "you could just go  _before_ you end up losing to two five-foot, angry parents."

"Don't give him the option," K said. "I'm up to give him what he wants. He won't want it though."

"Forget it," Logan growled, already trying to figure out how fast he had to be to get there before Scott was hurt.

"He could always fight me, but he seems to chicken out of that option every time I offer," Scott said dryly.

"Is that it, Vic?" Logan asked. "Scared of a sixteen year old?"

"Sure is," Scott said.

Creed jostled Scott hard. "Shaddup, boy."

Scott shook his head, his teeth gritted. "Just proving me right."

"Let's just … cool it down, guys," K said, starting to step forward, though both Logan and Hank were quick to grab an arm each to pull her back - not that it lasted long. "You want a trade? Set him down  _ever_ so gently."

Creed was watching her warily, and he hadn't let go of Scott at all. "What are you up to?"

"You've got my favorite teenager," K said. "And he's right. Did you know that? He's right. By the way. But … you want a trade and I want him safe, so … instead of talking to  _him_ ," she said, turning toward Logan. "You could I don't know … go to the source?"

"Mom, no," Scott said, shaking his head.

"Hush, sweetheart," K said. "I already said you were right. Don't make me regret it now."

Creed narrowed his eyes as he looked between the three of them, growling lower still. "Awright," he said, though he glared Logan's way. "One move toward me and I'll break her little neck right here."

Which was more than enough to get a similar low, rumbling growl from Logan - who wasn't happy at  _all_ with how this was rolling. He was clenching and unclenching his hands as K started to cross the distance, perfectly calm until she got to a point where she knew she'd have time to react if Creed darted toward her. "Let him go," she said evenly, though the instant that Creed took a step forward with Scott, K started to crouch, clearly ready to fight. "Set. Him. Down."

"Get  _out_ of here," Scott said, squirming to try and get free himself. "You know he won't - as soon as he gets what he wants he'll just keep going."

"Scott. Trust me," K said. When Creed stopped again, he was sure to adjust his grip on Scott - and then threw him at Hank and Bobby before he darted toward K, and then it all went very fast. Creed was mid-air when K jumped at him too, and for a flash, the blade she'd stashed in her boot glimmered in the low light as she jammed it down between his shoulder and collarbone, and snapped it off. He started clawing at her - and she returned the favor as Logan rushed in with a snarl, peeling Creed back for a more fast paced slash fest between the two of them that made the fight from the year before look tame by comparison. The impact had forced Creed to drop her, and the hit to the ground had knocked her breath away.

And though K was bleeding, she made her way over to Scott, still keeping an eye on the fight. "Are you hurt?" she asked.

Scott shook his head lightly. "I'm fine… just…. Headache," he said, though he was clearly distracted watching the fight.

She nodded and gave his arm a squeeze. "Okay, then hang tight. I'm gonna help your dad end this a little faster." She took a few skipping steps as she broke into a run and as soon as there was even a little opening, she dove in alongside Logan - not giving Creed a moment to take stock of himself as they ripped him up. It was enough to not only cut the fight down substantially, but since Creed wasn't doing too great healing himself, he quickly saw that he had to get  _out_  and abandon his annual torture fest before Logan was injured enough for his liking.

By that time, Warren was starting to stir awake as well, with a little groan, and he shook his head and quickly glanced around, wide-eyed until he saw that Sabretooth wasn't there. "What happened?"

"Ummm…. A lot of snarling and blood," Bobby said, looking a little pale himself. All three of the boys were in rough shape as it was - Bobby with bruises from being thrown into people and having people thrown at him; Warren with claw marks and a gash down the side of his head; and Scott with several bruises from being manhandled. And on top of that, it was pretty clear to Logan and K at least that Warren and Scott both likely had concussions.

"So… did we win?" Warren asked.

"I … think so?" Bobby replied, one eye closed. "Maybe?"

"I would think," Hank said slowly, "that we can count this a victory, since the cretin has left the premises."

"He's not going to just… leave it at that," Scott muttered, though when he swayed slightly as he tried to stand, K caught his arm.

"Probably not, but if he comes back, I'll kick the crap out of him with your dad. We did fine together," K said before she wiped her hands off on her jeans and took his head in both hands. "This is so much harder to check you out when I can't look at those pretty brown eyes …"

"I think it would be safe to assume everyone involved needs medical attention," Hank pointed out as he helped Warren up.

"You kids anyhow," K said. "We just need a shower."

"Yeah, also, um, Warren says he heals a little too?" Bobby said. "Fun fact that I did  _not_ know about our resident Angel."

"Great," K said, smirking over at Warren. "Then I'll make sure to whip up something suitable for healing. You'll be hungry."

"I'd appreciate that," Warren agreed.

K waited for Logan to step in as a crutch for Scott before she made her way over to look over the others. "Who needs a hand?"

"I can assist our healing Angel if you'd like to be sure our Iceman doesn't make a third concussion in our lineup," Hank offered. "Though I strongly suspect that's the case."

K nodded and took a moment to examine Bobby as she'd tried to so with Scott, looking at his eyes carefully. "Yeah, you're not quite right either," she said. "What's the last thing you remember? Any lost time? Even for a few seconds … it makes a difference."

Bobby shook his head. "I'm  _okay_ , really. No reason to go all … whatever this is."

"All the same, give the lady a chance to make sure you are all there, Robert," Hank teased. "Or mostly there."

"Come on, Bobby, I'll give you food too," K teased. "Can't have you wasting away. Don't mind the blood, most of it isn't mine."

"Yeah, um, about that? What did you  _do_ to him?" Bobby asked.

"Did you miss it?" she teased. "Or are we too quick?"

"Well, I was under the impression that one little knife wasn't going to do any good from what Scott was saying about how he  _came back from being shot and falling off a cliff..._ "

"He'll take some time to come back after that," K said, nodding to herself. "The knife I broke off in his shoulder doesn't do healing abilities any good. Kinda … slows it to a crawl."

"The rest was just him askin' for it,"Logan said.

"Okay, so… magic knife. Makes a little more sense…"

"It's not magic," Logan said, shaking his head. "It's a bad chemical reaction, that's all. Short circuits healing. It was a crap attempt by the Russians to make adamantium. Ended up with that." He looked over at K with a little frown. "Might have been nice to know you  _had_ that."

"We'll talk about sharing later," K said.

"Someone's in trouble," Bobby said with a low smirk.

K didn't even look his way before she reached over and pinched the hell out of his side. "Stop that."

"Just glad it worked," Scott said.

"If I'd known  _when_ he'd be sticking his big nose in, I would have told you I had it," she said. "And explained to you that it would work. Every time."

"How is this not him getting in trouble?" Bobby asked.

"Why is it that you're trying so hard to join him?" K asked.

"I... have a concussion?" Bobby offered with his best innocent look. "Ow?"

"Uh huh," she said, shaking her head with a smirk as they made their way into the Institute finally. They got all the kids down to the medical wing and Logan took a moment to make sure Scott wasn't more whacked around than he looked.

"Meet you upstairs then, eh?" Logan said.

Scott nodded. "Yeah." He paused. "I did get you a jacket. Didn't get to give it to you yet…"

"Probably a good thing," Logan pointed out. "It'd be shredded otherwise."

"Yeah, well, happy birthday anyway," Scott said with a shrug and a smile.

Logan smirked crookedly at that. "Thanks, kiddo. You did pretty damn good out there."

"Would've nailed him if he'd fight square," Scott muttered.

"Yeah, that's never gonna happen," Logan said. "He knows when he's licked."

Scott nodded and then paused. "He… thinks you and K are already married," he said. "I don't know if that makes things better or worse but… I sort of slipped…"

"Worse," he said, nodding. "But I doubt that she'd take that as anything but a challenge anyhow." Logan paused for a moment, weighing that out. "We'll … need to talk about that when you're feelin' a little more clear headed."

Scott nodded again. "Yeah… that sounds good."

"She'll have food for you when you get cut loose," Logan said before he clapped a hand on Scott's shoulder.

"I'll make sure to thank her," Scott said, leaning back and rubbing his forehead. "For… yeah. All of it."

With that, Logan left the boys behind and headed upstairs to help K get things ready for the kids, which left the newly minted X-Men alone with each other.

"So … when were you going to tell us your parents have knife-hands?" Bobby asked.

"Claws," Scott corrected him without picking his head up. "They don't like to use them unless they have to."

"Why  _not_?" he asked. "Looked like it was a pretty … um … fast. And gory way to stop stupid."

"It hurts," Scott said. "They won't say it, but - I mean, come on. How would you feel if you skewered your own knuckles every time you fought?"

"I … have never had to consider that …"

Scott shrugged. "You get what you get," he said. "I mean, I get a wicked headache when I run out of steam - you get dried out - Warren's feathers  _hurt_ when you touch them-"

"-or pull them out," Warren grumbled.

"Yeah, but … it's still kind of cool," Bobby muttered half under his breath.

Scott smirked at that. "Yeah, they are."

"So … that's what they do, the whole … stabby thing. I guess that's useful if you're fighting," Bobby said, thinking it over.

"Yeah, that's why they keep getting in trouble. They're good for fighting," Scott said. He rubbed a hand over his forehead again. "Sorry he came after you guys. We'll have to be better prepared next year."

"Or just let your mom kick his butt and send him home and call it a day," Bobby pointed out.

"To be fair, she didn't win the last time they fought," Scott said.

"Okay, well… still," Bobby said, though he let it drop after a moment and the boys focused instead on just trying to patch up.

* * *

If the boys were expecting Scott's parents to be arguing when they got up to the kitchen though, they were sorely mistaken. The food was ready, but Logan and K were curled into each other at the corner of the table stealing little kisses with their heads more or less together.

"Charlie wants us to stay up here tonight," Logan said as Scott sat down near them. "To save his stress level, I guess."

K leaned over to give Logan another kiss then got up from the table. "I'll leave you boys alone. Get settled in. Glad to see you feeling a little more clear headed, Caramel Mocha."

"Me too," Scott said, nodding her way with a little smile.

Logan watched her go, but didn't say anything for a long while. "When you're ready, we'll find an empty classroom."

"Lead the way," Scott said, gesturing openly.

Logan headed down, barely looking at which room was which until he found one that was clearly not in use currently. The door was unlocked and the two of them took a moment to settle in before Logan finally looked up at Scott. "I need to know, really - what do you think of her?"

Scott paused for a minute and then tried not to smile too much. "I think she's great," he said. "Not just because she's saved my life, what, three times now?" He smirked. "But really… you know what I think of her, considering everyone around her refers to her as my mom anyway."

Logan nodded at that. "I'm thinkin' real hard about asking her to marry me, and I wasn't going to do that until I heard your thoughts."

Scott couldn't rein in the grin if he wanted to. "I think it's about time," he said.

"Haven't known her for that long, Slim," Logan pointed out.

"No, but when it's right, you just… know it's right, don't you think?" Scott said. "My mom - my birth mom - that's what she'd always tell us."

"Yeah, as long as I don't scare her off," Logan said, shrugging.

"I think she'll be fine," Scott said. "All things considered." He paused, then added, "She does like you - she's not just sticking around for me if that's what you're worried about."

"No, I know. I did manage to figure that much out, ya know. It's just a leap from whatever this is to marriage. And I'm not sure what she thinks of that. Yet." He shook his head and stood up from where he was leaning on a desk. "Guess I'll find out."

Scott nodded, still smiling. "Well, I think it's a great idea.'

"Yeah, I can see that," Logan said, smirking to himself. "Pretty sure she'd adopt you too - anyhow."

"I'm sure if you ask her…"

Logan shook his head at that. "Farrah comin' back for Christmas?"

"No, she's staying with her family," Scott said. "But…" He smirked. "I did tell her I'd send her an invitation. Unless you're planning to elope."

Logan had to chuckle at that. " _If_ she agrees, it's up to her how it goes down," Logan said.

"I'm sure I'll know when it happens," Scott said. "If nothing else by the ring."

"Yeah, this was fun," Logan said, nodding to himself. "Keep an eye out."

"I will," Scott said, then took a second to give Logan a hug. "Thanks for asking - you didn't need to, but thanks."

"Of course I did," Logan said, frowning at him. "You'd have to put up with her too - I had to ask."

"I meant I thought I was obvious, but yeah, I get that too," Scott said with a crooked smirk.

"Obvious or not, didn't seem right not to pull you in on it."

"Thanks, Dad."

* * *

It was only a few days after Logan and Scott had their talk that Scott realized K was, actually, wearing a ring on her left hand that held a little sparkle. And neither of them had said a word - instead going about their day as if it was always like that. Not that he should have been surprised by that. They had a knack for acting as if it was just … always that way.

Scott smirked to himself and shook his head before he came to sit down beside K. "So," he said. "When do I need to have a tux?"

"See … I wasn't going to go that fancy, but the idea of seeing you all dressed up makes it a little more interesting," she said before she set her coffee down and leaned over to give him a tight hug. "You're cool with this?"

Scott grinned. "Of course I am," he said. "I've been waiting for him to catch up to me on this," he added in a whisper with a crooked, teasing grin.

"Heard that," Logan said.

"Still right," Scott said without missing a beat.

Logan gave him a raised eyebrow look and simply went back to his coffee while Scott and K talked. "It's probably going to be too early to ask if you want me official for you, too … but when you're okay with that, let me know, okay?"

"It's not too early," Scott promised. "I've already called you 'mom' how many times?"

"I wasn't counting," she said with a grin before she gave him another long, tight hug.

* * *

The institute was a little quieter around Christmas only because Bobby and Hank had both gone to spend the holidays with their families. But that didn't mean that there wasn't still a Christmas tree and such - and when Scott woke up in the morning, he could already smell something cinnamony.

He made his way downstairs and couldn't stop his smile when he saw K working on some cinnamon rolls. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," she almost sang back. "I hope no one minds me doing this … it's kinda my thing for Christmas morning."

"I doubt anyone is going to complain," Scott said. "Need any help?"

"Sure, if you want … the first pan will need some icing as soon as they're out of the oven." She pointed to where there was some frosting mixed up. "Go to it."

Scott smirked as he started up with the icing. "If I'd known, I would have helped - Christmas is a family thing, right?"

"It is," she agreed. "You can help with the crepes if you want. Can't  _not_ have those."

"Smells amazing," Scott agreed.

"I second that," Warren said as he came downstairs. "I can smell it all the way upstairs."

"We're just getting going," K said. "Grab some coffee and help yourself."

"Merry Christmas, by the way," Warren said.

"Same to you," she said. "Hope it's a good one for you." As soon as the cinnamon rolls were set out, K waved Scott over to show him how to cook the crepes. "Nothing to it once you've done it once."

Scott couldn't help but smile as he let K take him through it and she got the next round of cinnamon rolls in the oven. And just like that, the two of them were working together to put out the breakfast for the rest of the group as Charles and Logan joined them as well.

It was a pretty quiet Christmas morning, all things considered, with plenty to keep them warm and fed anyhow, though once the dishes were cleared and everyone was comfortably settled in, Logan made his way over to Scott and dropped a small box in front of him without further comment beyond a quiet and understated 'Merry Christmas, too'.

Scott grinned at that. "Merry Christmas," he said, though he didn't wait to peer inside the box and then paused, a totally open look on his face as he pulled out the dog tags… especially when he recognized the date on them as the day the adoption went through. "Wow."

Logan was smirking. "You made it a year, so far."

"Yeah, and you're still keeping me around," Scott said with a smirk before he slipped on the dogtags and gave Logan a quick hug. "Thanks."

"Thought you might want something solid as a reminder," Logan said.

"Best Christmas I'd had in years," Scott said with a nod.

"You got a few packages from our friends in the city, too," Logan told him. "And Jan sent something for all your teammates."

"Of course she did," Scott said with a laugh.

"You're the one who asked her to design for us," Warren said. "Besides, I like what she designs. She's one of the only people that can design for wings  _well_."

"You sound surprised somehow," K said as she settled into her corner of the couch where she and Charles had been quietly chatting. Even Charles looked pleased at how the day was going.

"More like glad  _someone_ knows how," Warren said.

"You needed someone like that," she said shaking her head. "So … what did she give you?"

"A few shirts and a jacket," Warren said with a grin.

"Awww, it takes so little to get you to smile," she said, reaching up to mess up his hair.

Warren shook his head at her. "It's Christmas; can't I be in a good mood?"

"I love it. Don't stop any time soon," K said. "Just pointing out how cute you are when you're happy." She took a moment to open up the yellow package from Jan for herself and had to laugh. The short red dress was there - as was an embossed card that read 'Good for the EXCLUSIVE Design of One Wedding Dress'. She pointed a finger at Scott. "You told her."

Scott laughed and held up his hands. "Maybe I did."

"You so did," she laughed. "But - she was bound to figure it out anyhow when she came in the next time you guys get another teammate."

"Hopefully a girl this time," Warren said with a smirk.

"Oh, are you itching to get your backsides handed to you by a lady?" K asked, raising one eyebrow. "Because you don't have to wait for a girl to join the team for that."

"Careful, Warren," Scott laughed. "Choose your next words carefully."

"I'm totally outnumbered here," Warren said, shaking his head.

"He just knows already how it works," Logan said, settling in next to her with his arm around her shoulders. "Quick study."

"Yeah, well, helps that she's already gotten me out of more life-threatening situations than I care to admit," Scott said with a smirk.

"That would help," Warren said with a dry chuckle.

"All about perspective," Scott said with a smirk.


	23. Marvels Of Winter

It was mid January when Charles let his students know that there would be a new addition to the group, though he didn't exactly tell them much other than 'Make sure she feels welcome' which was all the boys would have heard anyhow. They were all waiting for the doorbell to ring - each young man ready to dive in to introduce himself  _first_ , so naturally, when the time came closer to when the new girl was set to show, Charles was sure to disperse them and set them all to different tasks so the poor girl didn't feel like she was facing a mob.

It was just a stroke of luck that Scott had gone out to the garage and managed to lock himself out of the house - or Bobby had locked him in the garage - when the new girl showed up suitcase in hand. He hadn't heard the car pull up, not when he was fighting with the garage door to open it, but once he  _had_ it opened, he stepped out and rushed toward the front steps just in time to very nearly run into her.

She turned around quickly when she heard him approach, and it took only a moment for her to light up in a warm smile. "Are you a student here?" she asked.

Scott looked up and froze up for a moment. For some reason, he wasn't prepared  _at all_ and all he could see was how the big, fluffy snowflakes stood out against her hair. And the fact that he could see her freckles plainly.

"Hi - yes, sorry, yeah, I go here," Scott said after too long a pause.

She smiled a little wider and tipped her chin down a touch before she shifted her bag on her shoulder and offered him her hand. "I'm Jean … I'm supposed to talk to Professor Xavier …"

"Yeah, he's expecting you," Scott said, glad that the glasses were hiding half of his expression so he could at least  _try_ to get a better hold of himself. "Right. Would you like - I can show you how to get to his office. Unless you want to drop your things off…"

"That would be great - um. Either … both, I guess," she said, blushing slightly, though Scott couldn't see it.

"Here, let me…" Scott held out a hand so he could help her with the suitcases. "I'm Scott. By the way."

She shifted the suitcase, but took a moment to shake his hand, sending a shock up his arm that had him wondering if that was her mutant power. When the handshake ended, Scott cleared his throat and carefully took her suitcases as Jean smiled a little wider, which seemed to make the light dance a little more at the corners of her eyes. "Nice to meet you, Scott."

Scott wasn't sure what else to do other than give her an awkward, tight kind of smile, so he led the way into the hall, aware of the fact that he was a little red-faced and tongue-tied - which was only making him blush harder. He cleared his throat again as he set the suitcases down then rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess you probably want to talk to the professor first? I can show you around - I mean, where everything is-"

"Thanks," she said, still grinning at him as they paused just beyond the front door. "I'd really like that, Scott."

They didn't quite make it to Charles' office, of course, before Bobby spotted them, and he let out a noise of pure disbelief. "I don't get it!" he said, throwing up his hands. "How do you have all the luck?" He shook his head and then skated over to Jean to grin at her. "Hey there. I'm Bobby, by the way. Since I know Scott here didn't bother to talk anyone else up."

"Hi, Bobby," Jean said, almost laughing to herself. "I'm Jean. I really just got here though. All he had time to do was help me in." She turned toward Scott with that same broad smile. "Right, Scott?"

Scott blinked for only a second before he caught up and smiled. "Right, yeah."

"Well, great, because Scott's tours are boring," Bobby said with his best winning smile.

"Did you freeze the garage door shut, Robert?" Hank shouted from the next room over. "Because if you did, you need to start running."

"Scott found the new girl!" Bobby called back to him.

Hank bounded out toward them, and when he came to a stop, he both whacked Bobby in the back of the head and then offered Jean his hand to shake - and then kissed the back of her hand as he introduced himself. " _Enchanté_. I'm Henry McCoy, but here they call me Hank on most days, Beast on the fun days."

It was clear Jean was entertained by the wide smile she wore. "You can call me Jean," she said. "I don't have another name to give you."

"Jean's fine," Scott said without thinking about it.

"Hank's just being a showoff," Warren said from an open doorway a few doors down. "Don't let them get to you."

"They haven't," Jean said. "And it's nice to meet you too."

He smiled at her and offered his hand when she got closer. "Warren Worthington the third, pleasure to meet you Miss …"

"Jean Grey," she said, still unable to stop smiling at the boys' antics.

"Oh yeah, and  _Hank_ was showing off," Bobby muttered under his breath.

"I was just … Scott was showing me to the Professor's office," Jean said.

"Then far be it from us to stand in your way," Hank said with a smile. "You can join us after you meet with our good professor - and I'm sure you won't find a shortage of volunteers to help you get settled in."

"Right. Well." Scott tipped his head toward the hall. "The professor is probably waiting…"

"Nice to meet you all," Jean said, waving the tips of her fingers, though as soon as she turned with Scott, she rested her hand on his arm. "Lead the way, Scott."

He smiled at that and tried to stand up a little taller. "This way," he said, trying to look gallant and not like he was blushing the same shade as his glasses.

The two of them went the last little bit to the office, where Jean gave him another little grin that made the light dance in her eyes. "Thank you, Scott."

"Anytime," he said, then paused. "And… you know… sorry about the whole…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "There aren't very many of us at the school yet…"

She laughed lightly at that and shook her head. "It's fine. I'm new. The novelty will wear off sooner or later, I'm sure." She gave his arm a squeeze before she let go, smiling at him one more time over her shoulder before the door closed behind her.

Scott stared at the door for a second before he shook his head to himself and let out a breath. He had no idea what had come over him, but he definitely felt like he'd made a fool of himself. He shook his head, though he paused, wondering if he should wait… before he decided to head back instead so he didn't look even more like an idiot.

K and Logan were in the kitchen having coffee as usual, and half tucked into each other when Scott walked in looking for somewhere to be. "You okay?" K asked, frowning at him slightly. "You look … off."

"I'm fine," Scott said, rubbing the back of his neck again.

"Have some coffee with me then," she offered. " _If you're fine_. Your dad was just talking about picking up a project for the summer. If you're interested."

"What kind of project?" Scott asked, seizing on the change of subject.

"Motorcycle," Logan said. "Something that needs a full overhaul."

Scott couldn't help but grin at that. "Sounds like something I could definitely help with," he agreed.

"Can't hurt to lean all the mechanic work you can," Logan agreed. "And when it's done … you might want to look at a motorcycle endorsement. Be legal to drive any damn thing you want."

Scott smirked. "I like the sound of that."

Logan waved him over to start looking through the classified ads he'd found - pointing out the different body styles and trying to get a feel for what Scott would do well with. "You'll be too tall for a sportster," Logan told him. "Better off with a super glide, probably."

Scott nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, but you're looking for something to overhaul, and the super glides here are just patchup jobs…"

"By the time I was done with it, it'd be more than a patch up," Logan said. "The ones here - someone dumped 'em or wrecked. They'll need more than a few parts." He tapped the picture of one of the ones that looked worse off. "Besides. You can customize these easier than some of the other ones."

"Sounds good to me," Scott said. "Summer's still a few months away, though."

"Take that long to get the parts together," Logan said. "Pick one out. Lets see how you do."

Scott nodded, and for the moment, he was completely focused on the task - forgetting about his embarrassment earlier until the noisy "tour group" made its way around to the kitchen, with Jean in the middle of three boys all trying to show off.

The noise dropped off though when they realized that Logan and K were there, and the two adults were giving all three of them a raised eyebrow look. "What fresh hell is this?" K said, focusing on Bobby in particular. "I thought you boys had been around other people before."

"We're just giving the tour," Bobby argued.

K narrowed her eyes. "It takes one person to give a tour. Did any of you ask Miss …" She looked up at Jean until she quickly introduced herself with a stuttered out 'J-Jean Grey'. "Did any of you ask Miss Grey who she wanted to give her a tour?"

"Well, no…" Warren said with a frown.

K rested her chin in the palm of her hand as she met each one's gaze until they dropped it. "Don't you think the young lady deserves that much?"

"Yeah… well…." Bobby stammered.

"If there is any kind of excuse on the end of that, I can promise you that you'll be  _all mine_  for self defense for the next month," K said.

Bobby quickly swallowed and shook his head before he turned to Jean. "Whodoyouwannagivethetour?"

Jean looked between the boys with a small almost-frown before she looked K's way. "Would you mind…?"

"That might be a wise choice, considering," K said before she gave Logan a kiss and got to her feet to show Jean around, leaving the boys in the kitchen with Logan.

"Wow," Logan said, shaking his head as he went back to his paper. "Nothin' like breathin' room."

"You have to admit," Warren pointed out, "she's beautiful."

Logan looked up at him. "I do, huh?" He set the paper down. "So that's the first pretty girl you've ever seen? Really."

"No," Bobby said. "But there's slim pickings hiding away up here!"

"Try goin' to town and introducing yourself to someone," Logan said. "Not like Salem Center's that far away."

"True enough," Hank said, looking more abashed than the other two.

"You better watch yourselves now," Logan pointed out. "K thinks you're bein' too pushy or actin' too much like a caveman and you've had it."

"That was absolutely not our intention," Hank promised.

"Yeah? Well … she just told me not too long ago she's a little sensitive about that, so … good luck." With that, Logan got up and left the paper with Scott on his way out of the room.

"Well that went well," Warren said dryly.

"Which part? The threats from Scott's mom or the warning about Scott's mom  _after_ she already threatened?" Bobby asked. "Really not helpful by the way, Scott."

"I didn't put her up to it," Scott swore. "She's just… like that."

"Well can you get her to  _stop_?" Warren asked.

"If I could, do you think she'd still be giving me looks every time Farrah writes?" Scott pointed out. "I can't stop her."

"Good point," Warren said, but then he stopped and started to smile. "Well. I guess that means you're out of the running anyhow, right?"

Scott frowned for a second and tried not to look too flustered. "That's not - we're not -"

"Well … I mean, she came out here to see you, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't know when I'll see her again," Scott said, shaking his head. "We're not… we're not official or ...anything…"

"So … what? You're gonna be one of  _those_ guys?" Bobby said. "Buncha girlfriends that aren't official?"

" _No_."

Bobby was snickering as Warren shook his head. "I think if anyone tries to lay a claim, we'll be running laps for the next six months."

"The best policy, then, would be to let the lady decide," Hank said with a small smile. "That was the point of the tongue-thrashing we got, after all."

"Sounds fair to me," Bobby said, slicking his hair back. "Good luck … I guess."

"May the best man win," Warren said with smirk.

* * *

Jean had been in Xaviers for all of a week before they were graced with a visitor … who came armed with several sketchbooks and a measuring tape.

And as it turned out, Jean had gotten into the habit already of finding K when the boys were a little …  _much_ for her to deal with, so she was quietly doing her homework in the kitchen with K when Jan let herself in to get started on her big project.

K barely looked up when she stepped into the kitchen. "Oh, hello, Jan … I didn't realize you were coming up today," K said. "Coffee's still fresh. Help yourself."

"Like you could keep me away!" Jan said with a grin. "I'm totally loving designing for this team. First you bring me wings and now you've got the cutest little girl - hi!" She waved at Jean, who sheepishly waved back.

"She's adorable, isn't she?" K agreed. "Jan, meet Jean - and vice versa." she took a sip of her coffee then set the mug down. "You two should be fast friends. Jan here is also the first girl on her team full of too much testosterone."

"It's a drag, right?" Jan said, grinning warmly at Jean. "I mean, don't get me wrong; I love them! But it's a total drag."

"They mean well," Jean said, but K scoffed.

"Jan, at  _least_ you started out with grown men. This poor girl is dealing with four  _teenage boys_."

Jan let out a sympathetic noise. "Oh no. Who do I need to zap? I will so zap people who need zapping," she swore.

"I think I'm covered," Jean said, holding up both hands. "And what I can't handle, K has been brow-beating them."

"Well, good," Jan said. She beamed and sat down across from Jean. "So, if you don't mind my asking… what is it that you do? I'm just asking so I can design properly…"

"Oh, I'm telepathic and telekinetic," Jean said, nodding lightly.

Jan's grin widened. "Oh, that I can do!" she said. "I had to get  _Tony_ involved to get those glasses for Scott and Warren's wings are so tender, especially after a fight…"

"We can use Charles' office to do your measurements," K offered. "Give her a little privacy."

"Be my secretary again?" Jan asked brightly.

"Makes it go quicker, doesn't it?" K agreed, picking up her mug.

In no time at all, the girls had taken over Charles' office, and Jan was positively humming to herself as she went about her business. And of course, when Jan was done with Jean, she caught K's arm. "Ah ah," she said. "How am I supposed to make you a wedding dress if you don't let me play with you?"

"I thought you  _had_ my measurements already," K said.

"This is different than a tight-fitting suit or a little red dress," Jan insisted. "This - this is a wedding dress! I need your  _input_ , not just your  _numbers!_ "

"I … don't  _have_ any input," K said. "What kind of dress would even fit the couple?"

Jean had her head tipped to the side as she looked K over and then took the seat K had been using. "It really depends on the season, doesn't it?" Jean asked.

Jan let out a delighted laugh and clapped her hands together. "Oh, I like you! Please stay forever."

Jean smiled up at her. "I … considered trying to be a model," she admitted.

"Oh, you'd be  _great_ at it!" Jan said, her smile turning even more enthusiastic. "You're naturally beautiful… and you know about fashion… you could totally try on some of my designs…"

Jean smiled wider. "I'd love that!"

"See?" K said. "You two don't need me."

"At least give me  _something_ to work with!" Jan insisted. "When is the wedding? Do you want a long train or veil? Come on!"

K shrugged her shoulders up at that. "I … don't know. Ask Logan."

"Don't think I won't," Jan said. "And if he says to come back to you, I'm taking drastic measures and booking the venue  _for you_."

K gestured openly. "Be my guest! I was honestly considering just … doing the paperwork and calling it a day."

"Then I will do it!" Jan shot back. "It'll be lovely. Tasteful. I know you guys are trying to travel low-key, so we could make use of the  _gorgeous_ grounds here, you know. But you're marrying Logan  _and_ adopting Scott and you should do more than just  _sign papers_!"

"Alright, but I don't know what he's expecting here," K said. "And I don't know what's appropriate for a wedding-adoption combo."

"Oh, let me handle it," Jan said. "I'll get them matching tuxes. You'll all look perfect together!"

K turned to Jean and let her tone drop low. "She's going to use yellow for his tie, isn't she?"

"She's definitely leaning that way," Jean agreed quietly.

"Hey, Wasp - international fashion designer extraordinaire?" K called out. "How come you're remeasuring me and not Logan? Do you think I gained weight or something?"

"Well if you had, I wouldn't say anything!" Jan said, though she was slightly red-faced. "I was - just checking!"

"Just checking  _what_?"

"Nothing."

K narrowed her eyes and let out a growl." _Lying_  to me!"

"I just - you two - I just wanted to see-"

"You were  _hoping_ …!"

"Well, you're just so sweet with Scott and it would be so  _fun_ …."

"Who at the mansion is betting with you?" K asked.

"No o-" Jan paused when K narrowed her eyes. "Everyone?"

"Are you kidding me? Tony too?" she said, looking shocked.

"Well, to be fair, Steve insisted that Logan wouldn't propose  _just_ for that, so he's betting on a honeymoon baby?" Jan said, one eye shut in a wince.

"And what were  _you and Tony_ betting on?"

"Well…." Jan held up her hands. "Maaaaybe we were hoping - I mean  _obviously_ that wasn't  _why_ he proposed but it would be nice if there was  _also_ a little one…"

K was staring at her open mouthed. "Is there anyone in the Avengers that's at risk for any of this or is it all just sport with us?"

"I mean… Hank doesn't want … well, no, not really, no," Jan spluttered.

K let out a breath and took the few steps toward her to give her a quick hug. "Tell you what," K said. "I'm not. But … you can tell those idiots whatever you want. And  _if_ and when we do? You'll be my first call."

Jan let out a little squeak and then wrapped her up in a much tighter hug. "That would be great!" she gushed.

"See how this is, Jean? I'm not even married and they're making baby bets," K said as she kept Jan in an almost snuggle. "We haven't even been together for a  _year_ , Jan."

"I really want to design little yellow onesies!" Jan said.

"You already have them designed," Jean said quietly. "They'd just need tiny tiger stripes."

"Don't start," K said, finally letting Jan go as she pointed a finger Jean's way. "I will leave you to the wolves."

"No she won't," Jan said, smiling at her.

K let out a sigh. "Just … keep Coco in mind while you design. Please."

Jan giggled and nodded. "Of course!"

The three of them headed back toward the kitchen, where Scott and Logan were again pouring over motorcycle advertisements. K headed right for Logan and slipped into the chair next to him to very quietly whisper in his ear what the scuttlebutt was. And of course, he let out a breath and just looked up at Jan looking entirely unamused. "I'm not surprised somehow," he said.

"Oh come on. Wouldn't it be sweet?" Jan insisted.

Logan tipped his head slightly then frowned and shook it. "Probably not real smart. Too many creeps that'd like to get a hold of that."

"They're coming after you anyway," Scott said quietly. "And me. And Mom."

"Scott's in on the bet," K said low - but not low enough that Scott could miss it. "He's got his money riding with Cap. Whatcha bet?"

"I'm not takin' that bet," Logan said. "I can see him bettin' with Cap."

Jean bit her lip as the adults picked back and forth, then she closed her eyes to focus on Scott before she projected out to him.  _Do you have a bet going?_

_I… may have sent some money in my last letter to Wasp, yeah. But I'm betting on the first year, not before the wedding._

Jean couldn't help but grin, opening her eyes to catch his gaze before she nodded and projected again.  _Do you think she'd take my bet? I can't read them …_

 _I'm sure she would,_ Scott said.  _She'd just be happy to have more people in on it._

Jean nodded to herself and then projected again.  _Okay. I'm going to try something. Just … hold on a second._ She closed her eyes and again projected - only this time, she did a little link between herself, Scott, and Jan.  _Jan, it's Jean … don't react, okay? I have a question but I don't want K and Logan to hear it. Just … think your response._

The mental squeal of shock and excitement had both Jean and Scott smirking a little more than they had been before.

 _I want in on the bet,_  Jean told her.

 _Of course you do!_ Jan responded immediately, absolutely failing at not looking tickled.

_I need to know what everyone else has before I bet though. I don't want to do like … one month different than anyone if I can help it._

_Well, Tony and I are united on before the wedding,_ Jan said.  _Steve says on the honeymoon. Hank won't play, but Thor says it'll be within the first two years, but he's a god and he lives forever so he has a different concept of 'soon'? Steve and Scott say the first year, though._

 _Can I bet on the first six months?_ Jean asked.

 _Yes, you absolutely can!_ Jan said, grinning wider.  _I knew I liked you._

Jean finally smiled at Jan and glanced over at Scott, who was also grinning crookedly.  _Can I put down fifty? Or do you have a bigger buy in?_

_I think fifty is fine for a - you're sixteen, right?_

Jean blushed and nodded, holding Jan's gaze.

_Then that's fine. Scott put down a hundred but he also has a wider margin… I won't tell you what Tony and I put down but we're sort of independently wealthy..._

_Okay,_  Jean projected out, then she waited for Logan and K to finally glare at the three of them - clearly sure that something was up … and then they left. Just in time to miss Jean floating a fifty to Jan. "I was going to do that behind their backs but … "

Jan giggled. "Seriously. Please stay forever. And be an Avenger when you get older.  _Please_."

"I just now decided to join the X-men," Jean said, still grinning. "I don't have a name yet."

"Well, I'm totally poaching you," Jan said. "Sorry, Scott, but she's mine now."

Scott flushed and shook his head. "You can't - we're just starting!"

"Mmm, so sad," Jan said airily.

Jean was shaking her head at the look on Scott's face. "Did you want to go get an ice cream cone with me?" she asked. "I know it's cold out, but … it sounds good."

Scott blinked at her, totally taken off-guard by the offer. "I - yeah, sure, that… would be good."

Jean smiled at him and then waved at Jan as they headed to the garage. "Let me know if you want any help with the dress, okay? I'll see if I can get a better feel for what she'd like."

Scott was still grinning as they hit the garage, and he shook his head. "You're - that was great," he said, still grinning.

"I know they have to be really hard to surprise," Jean said.

"They really are," Scott said. "But they know what telepathic conversations look like, you know - especially since Wasp has no poker face."

"Yeah, I need to work on that, I know I do," Jean said. "But I'm just starting out, really." She grinned up at him. "You should have seen your mom's face when she figured out that Wasp was measuring her to  _double check_ that she wasn't getting any bigger. It's driving them nuts."

Scott couldn't help but laugh at that. "I'm sure she wasn't happy."

"She was not," Jean confirmed. "But it was kind of Jan's own fault. She measured over her hips and waist three times and looked irritated every time."

"Like I said - no poker face," Scott said with a little smirk.

Jean smiled again at him and took his arm. "I think it would be really sweet. And tiny."

Scott nodded, though he couldn't stop the blush either. "I wouldn't mind having a brother again. Or a sister. That might be fun."

"Then I hope you get it," Jean said. "I don't know about brothers, but I adore my sister."

"I just have Alex," Scott said, then paused. "I don't know if it counts… I haven't seen him since I was ten."

Jean paused and bit her lip on hearing it. "Of course it counts, Scott. That's your brother."

"I know. I wasn't…" Scott shook his head. "I just meant we're not close."

She moved a little closer and gave his arm a better squeeze, resting her head on his shoulder. "I can't imagine. I'm sorry though."

"It's fine," Scott said, though he was more focused on the way she was resting her head right there. "He got adopted…." He swallowed and turned red and bit his lip. "And so did I. So…"

"It's just a shame you weren't adopted together," Jean said.

"We couldn't have been," Scott said. "But yeah. Me too."

"I don't want to drag you down, Scott, but when you feel like it, I'd like to hear what happened," Jean said quietly.

"It's … there's not much to tell," he said, trying to play it off. "Alex's parents probably didn't even know if I'd make it. We were in a crash. I don't blame them. Nobody wanted to adopt a brain case anyway"

She sat up and frowned as she listened to his story. "That's … that doesn't even sound right."

"It's the truth," Scott said. "You asked… I was in a coma for a year. Alex was gone when I woke up, and no one wanted a kid with brain damage. I mean, until Logan got there…"

"I'll bet he doesn't think you have brain damage," she said. "No one else does."

Scott let out a small breath. "Yeah, well, the doctor I had wasn't - well. We're not sure what was true and what wasn't. But it was on my record, so … a lot of parents were scared off."

"Well at the risk of sounding selfish, I'm glad that you're here - with the people you're with," Jean said.

"Yeah?" Scott raised an eyebrow her way, somehow turning redder still.

She nodded her head at that. "You're easy to talk to, Scott. And you're just not … tripping over yourself like the other boys." She shook her head. "I'm just sorry you've been through so much already."

"To be fair," Scott said, "I think that's par for the course for everyone. I mean, Warren's parents just dropped him here, and Hank's were kidnapped for coercion…"

She brushed her hair behind her ear. "Not me," she said. "Not really. My dad's a college professor at a liberal arts college upstate … mom stayed home … It was just us and my sister …" She gestured to her head. "Until, of course my powers kicked in and they thought I was going crazy. They had to bring in the professor to work with me from home …"

"I didn't know that," Scott said. "We all worked with him at the school."

"I couldn't leave the house, Scott," Jean said. "Not without getting overwhelmed with everyone's thoughts in the whole tri-county area."

Scott turned to face her, both eyebrows high. "I'm sorry," he said. "That… that had to be hard."

"It was pretty horrible," she agreed. "But … with a lot of work, the professor helped to block off some of my abilities so I could function." She shrugged. "But I didn't feel  _right_ going back to school, so he suggested the Institute."

"I'm glad he did," Scott said, then flushed. "I mean… I'm glad you…"

She smiled his way - like she did when she'd first shown up at the Institute. "Me too."

Scott rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, completely unable to come up with anything to say other than a quiet, "yeah."

The two of them spent the next hour getting ice cream and quietly swapping stories - when they weren't just smiling and stealing glances. And when they returned, they were still continuing the same pattern of awkward quiet back and forth followed by stolen glances and blushing.

"Oh," K said when they came to a stop just outside of the living room where she and Logan were sitting together - half wrapped up until they heard someone coming. "Oh, my god."

Scott shook his head, his eyes wide behind his glasses. "Mom…"

But she couldn't help but laugh as she slid off of the couch into a puddle. "You're killing me, Caramel Mocha! So sweet!"

Logan looked over the edge of the couch where K was dying laughing and muttering about how history was repeating itself between breaths. He shook his head and then simply picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. "Good night, Slim. Jeannie."

Scott was properly red-faced and mortified by the time Logan and K slipped out of the room. "I'm… sorry about… them," he muttered, mostly to the floor.

"Why?" she asked with a little troublemaking smile. "At this rate, I'm going to win that bet."

At that, Scott couldn't help but laugh. "That's one way to look at it."

"That's just ... how parents are," Jean said. "Believe it or not, it means she loves you."

"I know. I just…." Scott shook his head. "She… she thinks it's hilarious…."

Jean stole a little peek into his thoughts to see what exactly it was that K thought was hilarious, and for an instant, the smile slipped, though she recovered quickly. "I think … she just has an affinity for young love," Jean said carefully.

"Maybe," Scott allowed. "She also just… teases everyone."

"But … clearly, your dad isn't going to let her go too far," Jean pointed out. "He didn't even ask before he hauled her out."

Scott smirked. "He's been looking out for me since I met him," he admitted.

"Maybe when I get a little further in my training, I'll be able to join you and Charles in a session," Jean said, then quickly back tracked. "If … you want me to, that is. You don't  _have_ to … don't feel like … I'm not pressuring you. Really. I mean … it's just … nevermind."

Scott scrunched his shoulders a bit. "I don't know that you'd… it's not exactly like we're going through my best memories…." He said. "I'd rather… if you were going… maybe something not so…"

"No," she said. "But …I meant … that we could … or you could show me some of these things … that I know are hard to talk about. Or to see how you met them … it would be easier. But you don't have to. It was just a thought."

"No, no, I …" Scott paused to arrange his thoughts. "It's just… both times… with mom  _and_ dad… they aren't happy memories to start. Even the professor doesn't like to stay in some of … it's just… if I wasn't trying to… I'd almost say it's better to forget it…"

"Put it past you, but don't forget," Jean said. "That's what Charles says."

"Yeah, my problem is I have to remember it first," Scott said with a self-deprecating smile.

She gave his arm a squeeze. "You will."

He smiled back. "You… could help if you want," he said. "I wasn't… saying no. Just trying to warn you. It's not… like your family."

"Maybe that's what I find interesting," Jean said. "None of us are really normal."

Scott shifted a bit. "No," he admitted. "But I just… anyway, you're welcome to come if you want to."

"I'll have to pass it by the professor first," Jean said. "I just … thought if you didn't have to find the words to describe it …" she scrunched up her nose. "I am really guilty of doing that too much though -just skipping the words and projecting what I'm thinking or remembering."

"That's alright," Scott said. "I'm not very good at … and my parents are both pretty reserved too."

"Me too," she said. "I'm trying hard to be more clear though." She stopped in front of her door and swung her shoulders a little. "So … I guess … I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. See you then," he said, still completely unsure of what to do until Jean gave him a little smile and slipped into her room, and he simply made his way to his own room and tried not to think too hard about how  _hard_ it was to talk around Jean.


	24. Head Games

At first, after Jean got to the school, Scott hadn't been having as many sessions with the professor as before. Jean was in his office more often, working on her telepathy. And while Scott totally understood that - K had pulled Charles aside to let him know just what she thought of him 'playing favorites.'

In no time, Scott was back to sessions with Charles, trying to peel back the layers of deception that had been put in place in his mind. Charles was sure that there was some kind of psychic block to Scott's powers, especially because it seemed like Scott did better on the range or in training every time they broke another block or uncovered another layer of hidden memories.

And while Scott wasn't quite in the same mindset of getting his powers "fixed" and then turning around fast to run with his family… he definitely still wanted to be able to function without the glasses all the time.

And only  _part_ of that was because he couldn't help but wonder what Jean looked like without the red lenses.

They had been working on a hidden door in Scott's mind for the better part of a week. Already, they'd been able to uncover plenty of hidden memories of that secret room in the basement of the orphanage where Logan had found Scott in the first place, but most of them ended in sedation or a telepathic mind wipe that was hard to get past. So while those were always rough… Scott had to wonder exactly what was  _hidden_ so deeply that being strapped down and sedated was easier to get to.

It was hard to want to peek into that, but the professor was right - they needed to know what Essex or Pearson or whatever his name was had done.

He and the professor spent most of the session trying to break into one of those hidden rooms. It was hidden behind yet another hidden memory - of being restrained as Essex dragged his fingers through his mind looking for a reason he hadn't used his optic blasts in some time - so it had taken a while to get there. But when the door finally budged, Scott and Charles threw their weight in as much as they could.

In his memories, Scott was around twelve or thirteen, so he'd had time to really bond with his friend Nate. So when Scott hadn't seen his friend around for the better part of the day, he'd decided to go looking, honestly worried that he'd run away or gotten into trouble again.

He'd looked several places before he tentatively poked his head into the nurse's office, where Dr. Pearson was looking over some readouts with a look of such intense concentration that Scott knew better than to interrupt him.

He was just turning to leave when Pearson set aside the readouts and seemed to settle his shoulders before, very suddenly, he shifted from the form of the tall, pale doctor to a small, skinny boy.

Scott's eyes widened, and he took a couple steps back from the door before he turned to run. He made it a few steps down the hall before Nate got to the door and saw him as he went around the corner - and that was enough to tip him off, even if before he had been lost in his thoughts.

Scott heard Nate swear and heard running footsteps behind him, though by the time he caught up, it was Dr. Pearson instead of Nate who grabbed him by the arm and spun him so that Scott was facing him an instant before Pearson slammed him into the wall.

When he hit the wall, Scott saw red - literally. From the outside, it was clear that the red glow that was a precursor to his optic blasts had lit up his eyes, but that seemed to irritate Pearson further.

"You are going out of your way to inconvenience me," he snapped at Scott, who couldn't get free of his grip no matter what he tried. "You finally show an  _ounce_ of progression - how can I build on this when I have to do so much work to undo your  _insufferable curiosity_."

"Let me go," Scott ground out, pushing back against Pearson's grip as much as he could, though the doctor was stronger than he should have been.

"No." Pearson glared at Scott until he was sure that he could see Pearson's eyes go red too, though when he grabbed hold of Scott's head, there was a sharp sort of cracking sound, and the next thing Scott knew, Pearson had hit the wall, and Scott felt his feet hit the ground again.

Scott had a splitting headache, but more concerning…  _more_ concerning was that Pearson wasn't moving. Or… breathing, it looked like.

Scott was truly starting to panic as he stared at Pearson's unmoving form, half in and half out of the wall. He felt sick.

It was clear to Scott and Charles as they watched the memory that Scott was in shock as he stayed in one spot, almost frozen, until he finally came to his senses enough to  _run_.

He didn't look back over his shoulder as he ran for as much as he was worth, down the halls and past the other kids and almost to the gate before one of the workers at the Home for Foundlings caught up to him.

Scott darted out of his reach at first, still terrified and sure that he had just  _killed someone_. But when the large man couldn't get a grip on Scott, he opted instead to just lash out, catching Scott hard enough to send him sprawling and knocked silly. From there, it was easier for the man to grab both of Scott's wrists in one large hand and more or less drag him back inside.

Scott couldn't catch a breath properly for as scared as he was, for as  _upset_ as he was. He still didn't know  _how_ he had killed Pearson, but he had, and he was sure he'd be in  _so_ much trouble.

Which was true, but not in quite the way he'd expected - not when they got inside and Pearson was waiting for them, looking somehow both irritated and pleased at the same time.

Scott stared at Pearson. "How…"

Pearson shook his head, and the expression finally picked a side and settled on smug. "I was right about you, Scott," he said. In one motion, the tall man holding him tossed Scott forward, and Pearson bent down slightly so that he was almost at Scott's eye level, but still looming over him. "You have more power than you've shown since you arrived… now if only we could unlock that potential…"

"Leave me alone," Scott said, though it was clear he was almost too scared to breathe for how pale he looked.

"Don't worry, Scott," Pearson said with false sympathy. "You won't remember any of this." With that, he took Scott's head in both of his hands, and Scott went limp a short time later.

When the memory had played itself out, Scott - the older, current Scott - was completely silent, and Charles didn't say anything to him until they had exited Scott's mind. He was watching Scott in obvious concern.

"Scott," Charles said exceedingly gently.

Scott had his head in his hands, and he didn't respond to Charles at first before he lightly shook his head. "That can't… he came  _back_ ," he said.

"It appears so," Charles agreed quietly.

"How do we …" Scott trailed off and closed his eyes, letting his shoulders drop. He didn't even know where to start - whether to address the memory or the implications or the gnawing feeling that this Pearson guy wasn't going to be so easy to get rid of if he could come back from the  _dead_.

"It certainly makes things a bit more complicated," Charles said, more or less responding to Scott's thoughts.

"A bit," Scott repeated almost dully.

"Did you want me to bring Logan in for this? He should probably know …"

Scott nodded quietly. "Yeah. Probably," he agreed.

Charles nodded and took a moment before he reached out to Jean, who he knew was with K and Logan at the time … since the two ferals were still partially blocking him from a more reasonable connection. It wasn't long at all before Logan came in, frowning to himself since this … had  _never_ happened with one of Scott's sessions.

"What's the story?" Logan asked as he came to a stop behind Scott and rested one hand on his shoulder.

"Something that we discovered in Scott's memories concerning Dr. Pearson," Charles said with a deeply settled frown. He watched Scott, who still looked shaken up, before he looked up to Logan. "It seems that in addition to telepathy and shapeshifting, the man can heal. I'm not sure to what extent, but even a fatal wound seemed not to slow him down too much, based on Scott's memory of things."

Logan let out a little frustrated breath at that. "How many powersets can one person have?"

"He is certainly the only mutant I've heard of with more than one skill set," Charles said. "If he is a mutant."

"What the hell else could he be?" Logan asked.

"I"m not sure," Charles said, his chin resting on his hands. "But whatever he is, it's exceedingly clear from Scott's memories that he had a vested interest in him - which is worrying in itself, but if he's not dead…"

Logan held Charles' gaze for a long moment. "K's been looking into him."

"I know," Charles admitted. "But I thought you should know - or rather, I thought I should confirm the suspicions I know you both share. It's likely we will be seeing this man again; he doesn't seem the type to simply let things be."

"I thought he was dead," Scott said, frowning Logan's way. "We didn't even know until now that he could  _do_ that. So why…"

Logan watched him for a moment before he shook his head. "I don't know. I feel like I've killed him before though. A very long time ago."

Scott nodded at that, though he didn't look any happier about it. If anything, he looked almost resigned as he got to his feet. "If it's alright with you, professor," he said, "I'd rather skip the range today."

"Of course," Charles replied before he gestured for Logan to take a seat. "Perhaps  _we_ could explore that feeling of having done this person in before in the meantime."

Scott nodded at that and then simply slipped out of Charles' office, though he didn't exactly have a destination in mind. It was more that he was trying to clear his head as he headed outside, pulling on a coat on the way out the door. There was still something about being out in the snow that was comforting and felt like home.

Just when he was starting to think about making his way to the boathouse while he was out, he heard footsteps crunching in the snow behind him and turned to see Jean in a long coat, her earmuffs pressed firmly down over her ears and headed his way.

He straightened up a little more without even thinking about it and then nodded her way with his best attempt at an easy smile. "Hi, Jean."

"Hi, Scott," she said, though she wasn't smiling quite as widely as she had before. "I thought … if you had time, maybe you could show me the trails into the woods, but if you'd rather be alone …"

"No, that's - I mean, sure," Scott said. "I don't mind the company," he added and then shook his head to himself again at his inability to  _speak_.

She shrugged her shoulders up to her ears as she made her way over and gave him a shy smile before she took his arm. "It's kind of slippery out."

"Yeah, that's what happens when you get a blizzard right after a thaw," Scott said, though he was mentally berating himself that he could only talk about the  _weather_.

"Well, yes, but … where I grew up the city kept the sidewalks cleared and salted … I guess I'm not used to a country setting like this."

"Well, I grew up in Alaska… which… you already knew…" Scott rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "But… yeah."

"What's it like?" Jean asked after a few moments.

"Alaska?" Scott smiled lightly. She nodded, the smile coming a little easier the further they were from the Institute. "It … it was great. I mean, I know the cold and dark isn't for everyone, but the Aurora Borealis and the mountains and the  _snowball fights_... " He shrugged. "Worth it, to me."

"Being away from all the people would have been nice," Jean said, then shook her head. "I mean … sometimes it's hard to close all the doors and block everyone out … fewer people would  _simplify_ things, I guess."

"Must help to be out here with just a few of us," Scott said.

"It does," Jean agreed. "And your parents … are pretty quiet. I can hear some of it, but it's very quiet."

"And I think Mom likes having another girl around," Scott admitted.

Jean smiled at that. "She's protective. And she always seems to know how to hit them. All the boys being stupid - the other boys. I mean.  _You're_ nice."

Scott flushed at that. "I … thanks," he said.

"You're doing it yourself," she said with a little laugh. "But you're very welcome. And thank you … for trying."

"I just… was raised right?" Scott said with a self-conscious shrug.

"Yeah, but I think … the others haven't ever really been away from home before," Jean said carefully.

Scott nodded. "Yeah. I think Warren's glad to be gone, though, to be honest."

"He really is," Jean agreed. "He's self conscious about his wings."

"Yeah… it took us forever to get him to fly for us," Scott admitted. "I don't know why - I'd rather have wings than these." He pointed to his glasses for emphasis.

"But you love to fly," Jean said with a grin.

"I do," Scott said, unable to hide his own smile.

She leaned his way slightly. "I do too. Or now, I do anyhow."

Scott smiled and leaned forward as well, completely unconsciously. "I think it would be amazing to fly without a plane too," he said. "There's something about being in a small plane… to have an unobstructed view would be amazing."

Jean smiled a little bit wider, then bit her lip as she thought it over. "Well, I can float. That's as close as I can get."

"You might do more than you get a better handle on it," Scott said with a smile.

She blushed slightly and looked away in an attempt to hide the blush. "We'll see. I guess."

Scott nodded, though he had caught the blush and felt his own ears burning slightly as he tried to find something else to say. "Maybe you would like to fly with me," he said - and then immediately regretted it because it only made him blush harder.

"I'd love to," Jean said with a grin.

"Oh. Okay, good," Scott said, shrugging up both of his shoulders. "That… yeah. That sounds good."

The rest of their walk was pleasant and mostly quiet, swapping little stories until they simply fell into a companionable silence. Jean even took a better hold on his arm as they made the loop around the lake. "Well. Thanks," Jean said, smiling at him quietly. "I'd like to do this again."

"Yeah," Scott said, nodding along. "I mean… if you ever want to talk… I'm not hard to find…"

 _I'll find you_ , Jean projected out to him.

 _I'll keep a… telepathic ear out,_ Scott said.

Jean hesitated, as if she wanted to say or do something else, but at the last moment she sort of gave him an odd little wave before she stepped backwards a few paces and then turned to go into the mansion.

Scott watched her for a moment before he shook his head to himself - though he couldn't get rid of his grin all the way down to the boathouse. He was sure that K would give him a hard time, but he didn't mind - at least, until he got there to see that Logan looked like he was  _not_ feeling good. He had his head in K's lap and everything.

"Dad… you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Logan grumbled. "Just dealin' with a headache."

"Well… do you think it would help if I used those pressure points you showed me?" Scott offered.

"I don't know if it works the same when it's psychic," Logan said, frowning to himself, though he sat up and waved him over. "Worth a shot though."

Scott nodded and came to sit by Logan and K. "What happened, anyway?"

"Charlie just … got to digging into some stuff," Logan said. "Tampered memories. Broken connections I guess. Some of it isn't …  _they_ didn't do all of it."

"What about Dr. Pearson?" Scott asked, falling into a frown even as he put pressure on

"Essex," Logan said, closing his eyes. "Dr. Nathaniel Essex."

"Right…. Well, I meant… he messed with my memories. He might have done the same to you…"

But Logan shook his head lightly. "He didn't know how to do all that crap when I ran across him."

"Then… what happened?" Scott asked, frowning harder.

"All I figured out was the last time I saw him, I stabbed him with both hands full. He was a lot younger then." Logan stopped what he was doing and looked up at Scott. "I wasn't more than twenty."

Scott's eyebrows went up. "That… but I thought you were at … how old does that make him?"

Logan shook his head. "I don't know. But he was a doctor then. I was a dumb kid in the woods." Logan let out a low sort of grumble. "This is all new - or new again."

"Was he still running a place like where you found me?" Scott asked.

"No," Logan said, again shaking his head lightly. "It was in the open day light."

Scott frowned at that. "How do we stop him?" he asked in a breath.

"I'm getting a few ideas," K said. "Starting with giving the creep some of his own medicine."

"I just want him gone," Scott said, shaking his head and looking a little paler.

"I'm on it, sweetheart," K decided. "Don't worry."

"Be careful," Scott said, shaking his head before he turned her way more fully. "I mean it."

"He's screwed with my two favorite guys. He's a dead man walking if he isn't dead already."

Scott finally turned away from Logan to scoot over to K and give her a brief hug. "And I love you too. Just… don't … this guy is …" He let out a breath. "Be careful."

"I love you too," K shot back. "I'm always careful, remember?" She took a moment to pull him over for a longer hug. "If he's around, anywhere, he should be carrying a houseplant to make up for the oxygen he's wasting."

Scott nodded, not willing to argue the point when he knew she meant well - and when he knew that he probably wasn't thinking logically when the guy made him scared down to his boots.

"She won't be goin' alone," Logan said.

"Good," Scott said.

"We have to find him first though, so don't worry," K said. "We'll be here for a bit."

"Well, yeah. You should be at your own wedding," Scott said with a small smirk.

"Oh, is that a thing that's actually happening?" K had to tease. "I wasn't sure Jan had narrowed it down to a season, let alone a date."

"The way she was talking last time she was here? I think it's more 'as soon as she can make the dress.'"

"That should be interesting seeing as we don't have birth certificates," K said.

"Or anything else to make it official," Logan added.

"Well, they figured it out so you could adopt me," Scott pointed out. "So… I'm sure they've got it figure out for the wedding too."

"I'm sure," Logan agreed, then paused. "Might … need to adjust that a little bit. Actually."

Scott froze for a moment. "Why?"

"I think I've got my name figured out," Logan said.

"Oh… really?" Scott grinned.

"Yeah, I'll put Cap on it. Let him do some digging to see if it's right or just … another dead end." Logan looked up at Scott. "Wouldn't be the first time."

"Well, I hope it's not," Scott said. "That would be great - and might help you remember more too."

"Unless I'm as old as I think," Logan said. "Then it might not matter anyhow."

"I think it still does," Scott said. "That's your past - you should know about it."

"Probably," Logan said. "Either way … if I can confirm any of it, then I'll have whatever legal crap we have adjusted."

"Alright," Scott said with a nod, then leaned back. "And…" He paused. "Next time we go flying… can I bring a friend?"

"You wanna take the red head," K said, turning his way with a smile.

Scott flushed. "She… we were talking about flying…."

"She's cute."

"She …. We were just…"

"She's cute," Logan agreed.

"And he's back to 'just'," K said.

"I… but we - we just -" Scott frowned as he caught himself. "That's not-"

"Uh huh," K said, grinning.

"We were talking about …. She can fly, sort of. Float, really."

"And you can fly for real," Logan said. "In a plane anyhow."

"Gotta show off the skills," K agreed. "Handsome he-man can drive anything, land, air, or sea."

Scott turned even redder. "That's not- she's -"

"Really. Really. Cute."

Scott felt like he was red down to his toes as he scrubbed both hands over his face. "Yeah," he admitted, though he couldn't look at either of his parents as he said it. "Yeah, she is."

"She's  _nice_ , too," K said.

Scott nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "She's… yeah."

"So … when should we get a plane lined up?" Logan asked. "These cold winter nights are perfect to fly."

Scott nodded. "Yeah. That's true."

"And then there is snuggling under blankets," K added. "Because it gets  _cold_ up there …"

Scott was back to blushing red again. "I… can we just… set up the plane…"

"Share cocoa," K sang quietly.

Scott covered his face with both hands. "Please stop."

"Okay," she said, still smiling as she made a point to kiss his forehead. "Since you said please."

Scott shook his head at that, though he wasn't about to press, either. "Great. So… later this month?" he asked Logan.

"We'll play it by the weather," Logan said. "Just … tell her it'll be a night flight when the temperature drops. You can use more of those anyhow." He shrugged. "I know a guy that owes me some favors. He'll be ready to go at the drop of a hat."

"Great." Scott smiled at that. "Great. That's great. Thanks."

"That's what I do, right?" Logan asked, then couldn't help himself. "Gotta make sure you're set up with unique dates when the occasion arises."

Scott let out a noise and shook his head before he got to his feet. "Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, son."


	25. Designing For Two

"Oh my gosh," Jean all but breathed out from between her fingers. "It's  _amazing_."

"Of course it is!" Jan declared, grinning and fussing as she darted around K. It had been sheer luck that Jean was around when Jan showed up with a rolling wardrobe that she insisted the boys  _not even look at_. It was too much for Jean to ignore though, and after her last encounter with Jan - measuring for her  _uniform_  - this simply wasn't something Jean thought was even possible.

"That looks like it fell out of the  _thirties_ ," Jean whispered.

"Well. That is where I got my inspiration," Jan said as she checked some of the flowing silk that draped across K's chest. "He's going to love it."

"I think you're overdoing it," K said, though she was sure to not move - her back straight and her chin level as Jan worked on the final adjustments.

"Oh, come on," Jan said with a laugh. "Look at you! I'm a genius. Go ahead and admit it."

"You've echoed the style pretty damn well," K admitted, one hand at her stomach as she turned sideways to see her profile. "About the only thing to finish the picture would be a cigarette going like a smoke stack."

"What?" Jan asked, scrunching up her nose. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason," K muttered under her breath, tipping her head slightly to the side. "So this is more or less done ... "

"Yes. And the men's suits are all but finished," Jan said. "Are you sure you want me to step in as maid of honor?"

"You organized this whole thing, Jan - you did all the work. More than what any other maid of honor would do," K reasoned. "Besides. It's not like I can reach out to anyone I knew before the whole Weapon X mess. I think you've earned it."

"And … it would be a lovely pairing … seeing as Scott's the best man and Cap's signing for Logan," Jan added.

"I told him I'm fine with waiting until Scott's eighteen -"

"Yes, but then you miss out on two years of legally being one of his guardians," Jan said, sticking a finger in her face. "And I know you don't want to do that, do you?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Then what are you stalling for?" Jan asked, shaking her head before she let out a little laugh. "You're going to be gorgeous, he'll be handsome - and Cap and I - we'll be the best looking witnesses in the history of ever."

K shook her head at Jan's enthusiasm, but didn't try to squash it, instead, simply rolling with it. "Ooh! I also brought the invitations!" Jan blurted out, abandoning K on the pedestal for a moment as she rushed back to the rolling wardrobe for a small box that she clutched to her chest on the way back to K. "Alright. So … we have your date - we have your place - and I'll have the dress ready to go by then … of course …"

K raised an eyebrow at her and tipped her chin down urging her to continue.

"... if just so happens … that … you know … you need it to be let out a little here or there by the time that rolls around …"

K's shoulders dropped and she turned her entire body toward Jan. "I'm not pregnant."

"Oh! I know! I'm just saying … if that changes …"

"It's  _not_ going to change."

" _Yes!_ I know! But if it does!" Jan drew in a breath and tipped her chin up, still clutching the box of invitations. "If it does, which I am not saying that it will, even if I totally endorse that path of action - then the cut of the fabric and the lines in the dress will totally accommodate that."

Jean was giggling to herself, one hand over her mouth as K looked entirely unamused. "Fine," K said, all of her proper posture entirely gone for the time being.

Jan beamed up at where K was still on the pedestal and finally handed her the box of invitations. K sighed as she took the box and then stared at the intricate swirl of letters raised on the paper … then frowned as she read through the text. "I don't know where this is," K said, but Jan smiled wider at that.

"Yes, I know. But I do. And it's gorgeous and perfect and exactly what the two of you need. It's woodsy and it should be covered with  _wildflowers_ and  _no one_ will bother you! Not with all of the Avengers attending! That would be idiotic."

K let out a breath and handed the box to Jean, who was sedately smirking to herself as she watched it go down. But - as soon as it was over, Jan was rushing to set Jean up with her uniform.

"We need to put the dress away - and you, Marvel Girl - need to try out the new threads!" Jan laughed. "Those boys won't know what hit them!"

Jean smirked up at her then took a moment to look disappointed before she could cover it. "Wait," Jan said, catching the little shift. "What's wrong?"

"I guess, I just didn't think yellow and blue was going to be the thing all the way through," Jean admitted, then pulled at a lock of her bright red hair. "I clash terribly."

"That's how uniforms work, kiddo," K said, only half-changed back into her jeans. "Put it on - try it out. I'm sure if you stick with it no one will complain if you alter the norm for your own thing."

Jean tipped her head at that and went over to the screens that Charles had arranged to be in his office for them. She took a few minutes to get changed, and when she finally came out, she was biting her lip as she looked at every angle of it.

"Oh, you look  _darling_ ," Jan said, grinning. "And the whole team will look so good together! Scott will be so happy!"

"Why?" Jean asked, spinning in place to face Jan.

"He picked out the colors, of course," Jan said before she grinned wider. "When he asked me to start designing for the team!"

"And he picked yellow?" Jean asked, her eyebrows raised.

"He had a few reasons," Jan said with a sly smile. "But - Um .. visibility. It's easier for him to see the brighter colors? So he wanted his team in a color he could spot fast."

"That's the story anyhow," K added. "Add to it his favorite color is blue …"

"Exactly!" Jan said, gesturing to K.

Jean considered it for a moment before she smirked and nodded, looking down at herself. "I guess that makes sense," she said. "I didn't think about it as a visibility issue…"

"You should put on his spare set of glasses," K said. "Might put a few things into perspective for you." She took a moment to tuck her shirt in then crossed the room to give Jan a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for all the great work. You're an angel." She draped her flannel shirt over her shoulder before she started toward the door. "I need to get these to Scott and Logan. They both have people …"

"I already covered the Avengers," Jan said. "So make sure they don't worry about us!"

"Wait, I thought - who else is there?" Jean asked with a frown.

"Well Logan will want to invite the Hudsons, I'm sure," K said. "And he's got some other friends, too." She smiled a little to herself. "And I  _might_ have one or two that could make it since it'll be in the redwoods. Phil … we  _need_ Phil."

"Who is Phil?"

"Only the greatest SHIELD agent in the history of the entire department," K said.

"High praise," Jean said.

"It's the truth," Jan giggled. "I met him last time we had to deal with SHIELD and he is the best!"

"I love Phil," K agreed. "Though his partner isn't half bad either, honestly. Proper gentleman."

"What about Scott?" Jean asked, though the blush was enough to tip the other two off no matter how she tried to act casual. "I thought he said he didn't have anyone who wasn't here…"

"No one in his  _family_ ," K said. "He talks about family. That's what counts highest with him." She tipped her head at that. "His brother is out there somewhere, but … he doesn't know where he is yet." K waved her hand as she stepped out of the door. "Don't worry about it. You and the other kids are getting an invite too."

"I'll wear something green," Jean said.

"Sure you don't want yellow?" K called over her shoulder. "Better visibility …. For some people."

Jean flushed. "Well… maybe a soft green," she said.

"Oh, no," Jan said, shaking her head with a bright smile. "You pick whatever color you like best - showcase those pretty eyes of yours!"

"I  _do_ like green, though," Jean said.

"And you and I can go shopping together to find something," Jan said. "You do  _not_ want to be underdressed for this one."

Jean grinned at that. "I'd like that."

"Oh, good," Jan said brightly. "We need to pick up some things for the other boys too. You can pick their ties, if you like."

"Only if I get to pick all of them," Jean said. "I think Hank needs something blue."

"Yes, of course! That is totally his color!" Jan agreed. She paused for a moment and tipped her head. "In fact … I think they could all use blue - just different shades."

"Bobby needs something light and icy," Jean said with a nod. "Warren's should match his eyes. And Scott needs something… bolder." She blushed. "Or… that's the way I see it."

"Bolder  _how_?" Jan asked with her hands under her chin. "If Warren matches his eyes … and Bobby is light and icy …. Hank is what? Royal blue? So that means Scott … oooh. Clear sky blue? Is that bold enough? Logan already shot me down once on neon - I'm not going to have him come after me for trying again."

"No neon," Jean agreed with a laugh. "But… yes, that sounds right to me. He loves to fly, doesn't he?"

"He really does," Jan said. "Cap said his Dad took him up to Canada for the whole summer just so he could get his hours in for his pilot's license."

"That's what Scott told me," Jean said, smiling as she nodded her agreement. "He talks about it almost as much as he talks about the team."

"Just goes to show how much it means to him," Jan said. "And Cap said he's a natural on the yolk too. He let him fly the quinjet from wherever they were in Canada to New York."

"He still talks about that too," Jean said.

"Sounds like he talks to you a lot," Jan said with one eyebrow raised.

Jean brushed her hair behind her ear with a light blush. "He… I'd rather talk to him than the other boys. They - he's easier to talk to."

"That's sweet," Jan said, biting her lip, though she couldn't  _know_ that she was projecting so clearly how exciting that was.

Which, of course, only had Jean blushing even more. "He's …"

"Go on - take your new  _lovely_ uniform and show off for the boys." Jan said. "I'll call when I'm coming to take you shopping, okay? We have time."

"Oh… okay," Jean said, though it was obvious she was glad to get away from the projecting Jan didn't even realize she was doing.

Not that it was going to stop Jean from wandering her way toward where Scott and the others were practicing - she did want to debut the uniform, if she was honest. And their reactions didn't disappoint. Warren and Hank both grinned at her outright, and Bobby let out a low whistle, though Scott seemed not to realize that his mouth was partly open until several long seconds later when he cleared his throat.

"Wasp got to you too, huh?" Bobby asked with a crooked grin.

"It was bound to happen, from what I was told," Jean said. "And I got to see  _the_ dress."

"You did?" Scott asked.

Jean nodded. "K has the invitations too."

"What's the big deal - it's just a dress, right?" Bobby asked.

"No, it's … it's  _art_ ," Jean said reverently.

"I'm sure with the Wasp involved, it's exactly that," Hank chuckled.

"K even liked it," Jean said with a little laugh as she walked toward Scott. "It looks like it's from the thirties."

"They're both old-fashioned," Scott said, though he was staring, even if the glasses hid it better on him than the other boys.

Jean smiled lightly at him and then held her arms out to take a little spin. "So? What do you think? Will it be okay?"

"More than okay," Warren said with a grin.

"Yeah," Scott said in a breath. "It… looks great."

"Oh, good," Jean said, reaching up out of habit to brush back a lock of hair - though with her mask on - it was clear that it was purely habit and she had no idea how to cover that little gesture. "So. We all match then, right? Do you have room for me to join you?"

"Of course!" Warren said.

Scott nodded. "We don't have a cap on how many people are on the team," he said.

She tried to stand up a bit straighter and hugged her elbows. "So … maybe I can stand back and watch first? Just to see what we're supposed to do?"

"Oh yeah. Watch this!" Bobby said with a grin, prompting all four of the boys to amp up their game as they switched to a new program.

And it was, in fact, an impressive sight. It was clear that they had learned a few tricks working together so that even obstacles that they wouldn't be able to take down on their own were easy enough when faced with all four of them. Warren was adept at flying himself and others where Scott called out to him, and Hank was as elegant pulling apart machinery as he was strong when he opted to tear it apart instead. And Bobby was skating on ice faster than usual, icing up lasers and robots with abandon.

Jean was starting to feel as if she was entirely out of place with the boys doing their thing. It didn't look to her like there was a spot for her in the lineup when they were working so well together. Until of course, they weren't.

It all happened too fast to even attempt to reverse. An overly enthusiastic Bobby got a little too close to one of the robots  _as_ Hank threw a second robot into it. The action managed to break Bobby's ice slide - while he was a solid thirty feet in the air, and unfortunately, Warren was on the far side of the room - too far out to get to Bobby in time to catch him.

Scott had just sworn and was rushing to find a way to keep Bobby from hitting the ground when Jean sucked in a sharp breath and simply reached out to pluck him out of the air. And hold him there. None of the boys really had any idea what had happened at first.

"This is really weird," Bobby said at last, breaking the silence before he glanced over at Jean and her outstretched hand. "Woah."

"It's … easier when you don't … move," Jean said, slowly moving him closer to the ground.

Bobby tried to stay still, though he was grinning when his feet hit the ground, and he flashed Jean a thumbs up. "Couldn't let me get hurt, right?"

"What are teammates for?" Jean said with a shrug before she tipped her face toward the ground. Her head was hurting her. She wasn't used to directing it so precisely - particularly with a person for a target.

Bobby grinned even wider at that. "That was amazing!"

"You okay, Jean?" Scott asked with a frown.

"Oh sure," Jean said. "Just a little dizzy. I'll be fine."

Scott shook his head. "Your nose… are you sure?"

She looked surprised for a moment before she wiped her nose with the side of her hand and started muttering under her breath. "Yeah. I'll … I'm fine," she said, though she was headed for the door.

Scott frowned at that before he took off after her and caught her before she could get too far into the hallway. "Jean, it's okay," he promised. "It's okay - no one's going to think any less of you if your powers have a downside. We don't want you to hurt yourself either."

"I'm getting stronger," she swore. "I just … I didn't really expect to do that. I just reacted."

"And you did great, really," Scott said. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

She was halfway hiding her face from him, and her shoulders were scrunched up as she nodded. "I'm ...okay."

"Jean." Scott tried to catch her gaze and then let out a breath. "It's okay. I get it. I have the same problem if I run out." He tapped the side of his head. "I don't get a nosebleed, but I get a headache. A killer one, I mean. More than the usual."

"I didn't think I'd over do it in the  _first thirty seconds_ , that's all," she said quietly. "I'll … I should let you get back to the team. I'm going to try to deal with … this."

Scott frowned and then reached out to grab her arm. "Jean," he said just as quietly, "really. It's okay. All of us struggled to get used to our powers when we first got here. Warren wouldn't even fly for  _a month_ because he was worried about how we'd react. And Bobby still runs out of ice when he's not thinking about it."

She shrugged and then gestured to herself. "Yeah, well … I don't know what I'm doing. And I don't know what I can even offer. I don't know how to fight. And obviously I'm nowhere near … anything."

Scott shook his head. "Bobby didn't have any clue what he was doing either - worse than the rest of us," he told her quietly with a smirk. "Fighting… that's something you have to learn. We all did. It's not your fault that you're the newest student. You can't compare yourself to us when we've been doing it longer." He smiled at her. "Besides, I can tell you - we could use a telepath on the team. I can't tell you how much having Professor X around to help us find someone in trouble has helped."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Jean said. "I just … don't know that I want to hear all of it yet."

"Can't you send messages without hearing all of it?" Scott asked. "That's what the professor does."

"The professor listens more than you think he does then," Jean said. "I could but then there would be no way to know if the message was delivered right, or if they were paying attention. Or if you needed something else … it's not a smart move."

Scott nodded slowly. "That makes sense," he admitted. "I just … don't want you to give up on the team."

"I just think this … I was following everyone's lead. This was just … too early."

Scott frowned, obviously trying to come up with an argument, before he let out a breath and leaned forward. "If it makes you feel any better," he said, "the first mission I ever went on for the professor, I got myself and Bobby captured, tied up, and dragged through the streets before Mom rescued us."

"Your mom rescued you?" Jean asked.

Scott rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… she'd come to talk to Bobby's parents, and while I was with Bobby getting a lesson in mob mentality…." He shrugged. "You're not the only one who has growing pains. You just weren't around for ours."

"Right. So I get the audience," Jean said with a frown, crossing her arms.

"You… don't have to," Scott said. "I mean… if you want to learn to fight…" He flushed red. "Well, my dad taught me even before I got here. I could… if you wanted to… I could help you out…"

"Are you sure you could hit me?" Jean asked.

"It wouldn't… I started with basic forms and… and it's not all about punching…"

"Shows what I know," Jean said dully.

Scott shook his head. "I didn't know when I started either," he said quickly. "And… and I'd really like you to stay. On the team."

She gave him a little half hearted smile. "You really don't have a lot of free time as it is," Jean said. "And … you have a wedding to get ready for. It's not that far off."

"Yeah…" Scott bit his lip. "Well… why don't… why don't you at least try some basics with me? After my sessions with the professor?"

"Are you sure?" Jean asked. "I'm usually ready for a nap after my sessions with him. I thought it was like that for everyone."

"It helps to have something physical to do after spending all that time in my head," Scott admitted. "I usually go for a run, but I'd rather… I mean… if you really want to learn…"

"I'd like to try it," she agreed. "So … alright. I guess … it's a … fight. Or something."


	26. Impressive Gathering

The weeks leading up to the wedding seemed to go in a blur of activity - most of which somehow involved Jan in some capacity or another as she pulled together what she thought would be the best possible day for the whole Howlett family.

Which was also a neat little detail - the last name that she could put on everything. Not that Logan wasn't still  _Logan_ \- it was just so fun that there was a name for the whole family, even if Scott wasn't going to change his and Logan and K would still go by their monikers… it was just one more detail that made it all that much more official and that much more  _perfect_.

The invitations had their full names, and there was sign at the front of the little clearing that had both of their full  _real_ names in beautiful cursive that Steve had done for her. The weather was perfect in the shadow cast by the massive redwoods where the Avengers and X-Men were gathered to celebrate. And, to Jan's delight, Heather and Mac Hudson had come with half of Canada's Alpha Flight project - delivered by none other than Harry Tabeshaw. Both Shield agents had shown up, and both were quietly smirking alongside a massive man who Scott recognized as the owner of the cottages where K had joined up with them.

And for as tickled as Jan was - flitting around and making last-minute adjustments and giggling to herself at how well everything was turning out - it was clear that Scott had her beat from the smile that hadn't stopped since he put on the tux.

Things were working out more or less exactly as he'd hoped they would. Logan and K were together -  _and_ they'd be his parents. Officially. And with the Avengers  _and_ his team there, there really wasn't anything Scott could think of that would make the day any better. He was even enjoying the fact that most of Alpha Flight was right there mixing with the rest of the group - and in a weird in-between of adult heroes encouraging the X-Men and a smaller team dealing with the star power of the Avengers.

"It looks like the Hudsons are trying to adopt that redhead you have on your team," Steve said with a little smirk, glancing out the window of the little cabin where they were getting ready - and waiting for the girls to be done, really.

"Doubt they'll have much luck," Logan said. "Pretty sure she's happy with the crew she's with, right, Scotty?"

Scott flushed but nodded. "Yeah… I think she'll stick around."

"Of course she will," Logan said, looking perfectly at ease.

"She just… wasn't so sure. I think practicing together helped," Scott tried to explain, but that only had him pinker.

Logan leaned his head back to catch Scott's attention. "You still talkin' about the team?"

Steve nearly choked on a laugh, especially when Scott couldn't come up with a response except to splutter out a "yes."

Logan smirked to himself but before they could get more ridiculous, Mac came in to wish them well - wearing a wide grin. "Moving kinda fast aren't you?" Mac asked before he pulled Logan into a tight hug.

"Don't give me that. You're the one that moves slow. Not me," Logan shot right back.

Mac chuckled and turned to Scott, still smiling. "You sure you're behind this joker?"

"Hey, I've been pushing for this since way before you even knew he was interested in her," Scott shot back with a smile.

"This is very true," Mac said. "Of course … I didn't  _know_ about her …"

"Not my fault you're slow," Scott said, the smile widening into an honest grin.

"Wow. There's an echo in here," Steve said, not even trying to hide the laugh. "We should probably kick this guy out … and get moving."

Mac shook his head, well aware of when he was getting his chops busted. "Alright. Well. Good luck. We'll be near the front. Heather insisted."

"And, smart man that you are, you agreed," Steve said with a smirk.

"I know better than to argue with my wife on anything like this," Mac said with a little wave before he disappeared.

Steve chuckled before he turned back to Logan. "Speaking of married life… you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Logan replied easily before he turned to Scott. "Anything else you need to do before we kick this off?"

Scott shook his head, grinning a little wider. "I'm ready too - let's  _go_."

Logan and Steve shared a look before they led the way out to where the ceremony was set up to take place. The whole group was in the shadow of the giant redwoods, and though Jan had spent a long time picking and pressing and making her final little adjustments, it  _looked_ as if the whole thing had simply sprung into being as it was.

They didn't have long to wait either. Though it was arranged by a pro - Jan - the little couple had more or less refused to run through much of anything, instead taking a 'play it by ear' approach. And by the time that it was K's turn to head down toward them, the gathered group was outright grinning.

Scott caught the low 'wow' from Steve when K finally appeared - it was clear that Jan had worked  _hard_ on designing it just for her. It was old fashioned and silk - flowing and form fitting enough that there wasn't any room for error. When Scott turned his head slightly, Logan was just staring at her - off guard enough he wasn't even smiling, instead simply watching her with his lips barely parted.

K didn't bother having anyone give her away - there wasn't much reason to, in her eyes - but when she handed the spring bouquet over to Jan, Jan was doing her very best to stop herself from dancing in place.

The ceremony was simple enough - and the vows were exchanged quickly. By the time they'd gotten to the kiss, there was no way that Scott and Steve could  _stop_ matching Jan for the size of their grins.

And when the crowd broke to head to the party, Logan was sure to take a hold of Scott's arm. "There are a few papers we have to deal with that I think you'll want to be around for."

Of course, that only served to widen Scott's grin. "You think?"

"Technically, you weren't around the last time," Steve said as he pulled the pen out of his inner jacket pocket.

"Yeah, well, this time I've got both my parents," Scott pointed out, grinning at K.

She leaned over to kiss his cheek as Jan and Steve signed the wedding papers as witnesses - and then as soon as Logan was done, she took her turn - on both the marriage certificate and the adoption papers. "It's official," K said. "On both counts."

"It already was," Scott pointed out. "It's just on paper now."

"So many big moves," K said. "New husband, last name … a gorgeous kid …" She wheeled around to point a finger at Jan. "And that's. ALL."

Jan put her hands together under her chin. "For  _now_."

K bristled, but before she could tell Jan what she thought, Logan pulled her away with Scott to where the group was gathered to celebrate.

The group of gathered friends and heroes had already gotten into things, honestly enjoying each other's company and swapping stories - but before Scott even got in the door properly, he found himself nearly bowled over by Farrah, who was grinning ear to ear and clearly  _thrilled._ Not just for Scott but also, obviously, a little star-struck by the  _guest list_.

"You didn't tell me that Bridget had a  _fake name!_ " Farrah said, laughing. "That explains  _so much!_ "

"It wasn't my secret to tell," Scott said. "And I mean, it's not something I was going to put in the mail…"

"It's just so cool," Farrah laughed. "Secret Agent Mom."

"If she hears you call her that, she'll insist on being referred to that way," Scott warned with a little laugh.

"I am so calling her that forever and ever," Farrah promised. "Like she said - turn about is fair play, right, Caramel Mocha?"

"I still can't believe you got away clean," Scott teased.

"Who said I did?" she challenged, one eyebrow raised.

"Oh yeah? What did she call you other than 'sweet Farrah'?" he shot back.

"For a while she used to refer to me as 'coffee with your ice cream' girl," she laughed. "You know. The blended frozen things I like?"

"RIght," Scott said, nodding along. Then, he smirked. "Doesn't quite roll off the tongue like mine," he teased.

"No, but then it was 'the good one' when she was kicking kids out left and right. That was fun."

"Definitely an upgrade," Scott laughed.

"And when she heard my  _actual name_ she started flipping her hair at me and making Charlie's Angel's poses … and  _then_ 'sweet Farrah'."

"And all I have is 'Caramel Mocha'... And 'Scotty' when she's trying to be nice."

"Because you're so perfectly sweet," Farrah said, smiling up at him before she popped up to kiss his cheek. "Do you want to dance?"

"Isn't that the whole point of these receptions?" he pointed out, offering her his arm. "I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to dance with the Wasp too or she might kill me."

"Did I tell you how  _wild_ it is that your Dad has Avengers in his wedding?" Farrah tipped her chin down. "Because it is.  _Wild_."

"Trust me, it took some getting used to when I found out too," Scott said with a little laugh. "Imagine having Thor as your appointed babysitter at age fifteen."

"I could totally get used to that," she deadpanned, nodding slowly. "Where do I sign up for that?"

Scott laughed at that. "You and I are talking about totally different things now, aren't we?"

She grinned and shrugged. "Yahnevahknow."

"Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but I'm pretty sure he has someone he's seeing. Just a little scuttlebutt…"

"Then don't burst it!" she said quickly. "Let's just … have a little fun before the Wasp reclaims the best man, huh?"

Scott grinned at that and nodded. "Sorry, right, where are my manners? I can't believe I tried to bring truth into the conversation about Avengers and babysitting," he teased.

"That's right, there's  _no place for that here_ ," she laughed, trying to give him a serious expression for her fake scolding. "Some of us have hopes and dreams, you know."

Scott just laughed even more, though. "Right, well, if I find any  _other_ tall blond gods, I'll give them your number," he teased.

Her eyes went wide. "Oh,  _good_ , you're the best, Scott!"

"What are friends for if not for overzealous dating help?" Scott shot right back, still laughing.

"Um … nothing, obviously," she laughed, leaning on his arm slightly as they made their way through the crowd.

Of course, the whole interaction hadn't gone unnoticed, and while Jean had been dancing with Warren, she was more than a little distracted trying to find out what the story was with Scott and the dark-haired girl that she had never seen before.

At first, Jean though she might be part of the group of heroes - someone's daughter maybe - but when she'd popped up to kiss Scott's cheek…

She wasn't paying much attention to Warren at all by that point as she peeked into Farrah's mind, just enough to see the  _history_ there.

"You alright, Jean?" Warren said gently before he pulled her into a spin.

"Mm? Fine," Jean said, quickly trying to cover, though she wasn't doing a very good job of it. "There are just… a lot of new faces."

"Uh huh," Warren said, though he took the opportunity to pour on the charm. "Any of them you like?"

Jean shook her head at him. "I was just…. Well, yes, I think all three of the teams here are very nice. I'm not sure who belongs to who, though."

"Well … the ones that talk funny are the Canadians," Warren joked.

Jean couldn't help but laugh at that. "Oh, right. Obviously."

"You know … the ones that were trying to snipe you to the great white north?" Warren said. "You're not really thinking of leaving us, are you?"

"I'm still not sure I want to be on this team, let alone a more professional one," Jean admitted.

"We'll be more professional by the time you figure it out."

"Probably," she agreed. "They mean well; I know Mrs. Hudson is just dying for another girl on the team."

"She's greedy," Warren said. "And it's too cold up there anyhow."

Jean smiled. "I promise, I'm not really thinking about going up to Canada."

"That's good," Warren said. "I don't know that we'd survive without you."

Jean smiled a little more at that. "You're sweet."

"They do call me Angel," Warren teased before he swept her out for another dance.

There wasn't any kind of a gap in time either before Logan and K had taken to the dance floor. Jan had no idea what to expect, and that was one area of this fiasco that had her holding her breath, though Steve repeatedly told her to relax about it. And once the music got started, the two little ferals made an honest show out of it, with Mac whistling and calling them 'Fred and Ginger'.

Even Scott was impressed as he and Farrah danced close by, and he couldn't help but grin as he passed them - they really were perfect together.

"You, Mister Mocha, are distracted," Farrah said before she turned to take in the crowd. "So … what's the story? Is it the pretty redhead?"

"What?" Scott blinked at her. "I… what?"

"You - you've been watching that angel guy all night - that is … if you're  _not_ watching the red head. And I kinda hope it's her that you're watching and not him, or I'm totally off on things and then … you know. I don't want to be that wrong, okay?"

"I'm not watching Warren," Scott said, shaking his head.

She broke into a broad grin. "Great! So … as your official wingman - I think you should go ask her to dance."

Scott almost laughed, even though he was still pink. "When did you become my official wingman, exactly?"

She gave him a dry look. "I'd guess when we both ended up moving away and couldn't really do anything more than that," she said. "Which really sucks, but you know. Not like we had any control over that."

Scott rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry about that. Really."

"No, I'm sorry about that," she said. "I told you we were moving first, remember?"

"I do remember that," he admitted. "I just…" He gestured toward her. "I don't want you to think…"

"Scott, you've got to be one of the nicest guys on the planet. If I thought anything like that, then I clearly wasn't paying attention to  _who. You. are._ " She poked his chest with each of the last few words as she looked up at him. "You, Scott Summers, aren't  _that guy._ "

Scott was quiet for a moment as he watched Farrah before he let his shoulders drop and then bent slightly to kiss her cheek. "You know… if you ever need anything…"

"I'd really like to keep in touch," Farrah said.

"Please do," Scott said. "I just meant… for a wingman or … something."

She gave him a little smile then wrapped him up in a tight hug. "You'll be my first call. Promise."

Scott squeezed her back for a second and then smirked at her. "You know," he said, "I bet you could dance with an Avenger if I do this right…"

"Want to introduce me?" she asked.

He grinned and offered her his arm. "Captain America is dancing with Wasp right now, and I owe her a dance. Is that a good trade?"

"Oh, yeah, that's okay,  _I guess_ ," she said, rolling her eyes. "Little bit of a downgrade, but you know. Take what you can get, right?"

Scott couldn't help but laugh at that as they headed over to where Jan and Steve were, and he tapped Jan on the shoulder. "Trade you?"

Jan beamed at him. "Yes! It's tradition, right?"

"And this is a pretty old-fashioned wedding," Scott agreed, then gave Farrah a smirk before Jan could completely pull him almost off his feet to go dance with her.

They were barely halfway across the floor when Jan started giggling. "Oh, Cap is in fine form, too." She leaned toward Scott. "He's teaching your friend Farrah the steps!"

Scott had to laugh when he looked over his shoulder to see that Farrah was almost giddy as Steve walked her through the more formal dance steps, and then he grinned as he turned back to Jan. "I promised I'd set her up with a tall blond."

"Oooh, well if that's what the game is, I want in!" she laughed. "I can  _totally_ set her up with a few good dancers!"

"I bet I can set you up with a tall blond too," Scott said, tipping his head toward where Hank and Tony were talking with their heads together a bit apart from the others.

"Oh, you  _can,_ can you?" Jan challenged. "I don't know that Tony will take the bait if you ask him to dance. The switch off isn't always so slick, Mr. Summers."

Scott laughed. "No, but if I walk you over there…"

"That would be great," Jan said, still beaming. " _After_. This song."

"I wasn't trying to get out of dancing with you," Scott swore. "Just… trying to help. He keeps looking over here, you know."

Jan grinned at that. "Oooh, good! That's good, right?" she peeked over her shoulder to see where Logan and K were - still together, and still being graceful as ever, though they were kissing too. "I hate to break them up."

"Then we won't," Scott said. "I said inside a year, remember?"

"Oh … I knew I liked you," she laughed. "And this would just meet up with my bet for Honeymoon …" She grinned wider. "We all win that way!"

"This is the bet you placed after you asked again this morning if she was pregnant, isn't it?" Scott teased.

"Don't be ridiculous," Jan said. "I didn't ask  _her_." She tipped her chin up and looked away from him. "I asked him."

"And he told you…"

"Well he  _told me_  to mind my own damn business, but also no."

"Sounds about right," Scott chuckled.

She let her voice drop low so that Scott had to concentrate to hear her. "But I'm telling you - if she comes back pregnant I am so not calling the winner until we know when the baby is born and count backward."

Scott laughed even harder at that. "You really, really want to win, don't you?"

"I really, really do," she agreed. "Don't you want me to win, Scott? I know you do. Just say you do and admit it."

"I wouldn't be opposed to siblings," Scott said with a smirk.

"Oooh, yes, best big brother  _ever!_ "

"Hey, I already am that," Scott said. "I just haven't seen Alex in a while. Doesn't make him any less my baby brother."

"No, but you'd just be protecting your crown, that's all," Jan said, smiling affectionately at him.

"Fair enough," Scott allowed as the song came to an end and he grinned, tipping his head toward Hank and Tony. "Want an escort?"

"Please, Mr. Summers. It's been a pleasure chatting with you."

Scott chuckled to himself as he offered Jan his arm and the two of them headed over to where her teammates were. "See you around," Scott said, giving Jan's arm a little squeeze before he slipped off - and couldn't help but smile to himself when he saw that Farrah was still grinning over her dance lessons.

He made his way through the dancers to where Jean was sitting, taking a break, apparently, and sat down beside her. "Do you think you'd like to dance?" he asked before he could talk himself out of it.

Jean turned his way with a little smile and nodded her head a few times before she vocalized it. "Yes, I'd love to."

"Great," Scott said, offering her a hand up before he led her out with a little smile.

"So did your Dad teach you how to dance, too?" Jean teased as Scott situated his hands.

"Actually, no," Scott admitted. "I didn't know he could do that, to be honest."

"Well … it's a shame they don't offer that class," she said, blushing.

Scott flushed a little at that as well. "Yeah… we could ask?" he offered. "Mom's been saying she has nothing to do… but I don't know who would come besides … I mean, there aren't many partners…."

"Right," she said, blushing deeper. She clearly hadn't thought that through very well. "Maybe … I guess if we get more girls at the school…."

"I'm sure we will," Scott said. "I mean, it's not like every mutant in the world is a guy except you, right?" he offered, trying for a tease. "I mean… that… you know what I mean."

"Yes, I do," she agreed, smirking to herself as they settled into the beat.

Scott was quiet for a while as he tried to come up with something to say before he said, "Jan said you picked out the colors?"

Jean's eyes widened at that and she nodded quietly. "Uh-huh," she muttered quietly. "Is … is that okay?"

"Yeah," he assured her just as quickly.

"I thought it was nice that you all got different shades," she said.

"Yeah, that was helpful," Scott said. "I can see hues, so having them all different made it easy to pick them out, actually."

"I just thought it was a nice complement to each other," Jean told him. "You're all so different."

Scott nodded at that. "Yeah, we can be a little overwhelming en masse, right?"

"Sometimes," she said, then quickly amended herself. "It's getting better though. The whole 'shiny and new' thing has worn off a little bit."

"I hope you don't think that's the only reason any of us would want to talk to you," Scott said quietly.

"Honestly, Bobby and Hank backed off a little bit after the nosebleed incident."

"Really?" Scott raised both eyebrows. "I mean, I'm not compla- I mean…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean… why? Or… that's good… I mean…."

She bit her lip and glanced over at them. "Honestly?" she said leaning closer to him. "Bobby is little freaked out. He thinks it's his fault I'm backing off the team a little bit, and Hank … Hank is watching to see …" She stopped herself and then shook her head.

"If you'll have another nosebleed?" Scott said.

"No, no," she laughed. "He's watching to see which way the wind is blowing. Sort of."

"Oh." Scott flushed slightly. "Oh. Well… you and Warren…"

"I didn't bring a  _date_ , Scott," she said quietly.

Scott tried not to look too relieved. "Right. I - I didn't either," he said.

She raised an eyebrow at that though. "Oh? I thought ..."

"I didn't," he swore. "I wasn't even thinking about - I was really more focused on the wedding and the adoption papers."

She nodded slowly at that. "So it's all official now. They're your parents for good."

Scott smiled a little wider and nodded. "Yeah. It's kind of a relief, to be honest. I've felt a little bad… everyone's been calling them my parents and it hasn't been official…"

"They haven't seemed to mind," Jean put in.

"No," he agreed. "And my mom just ran with it when it started out as an accident, so …" He shrugged. "Here we are."

"Well it looks like they're enjoying themselves," Jean said. "I don't think they've danced with anyone else yet."

"Yeah, Jan suggested I try to steal a dance with Mom but I'd rather-" He paused, flushed, and corrected himself. "I mean… they're enjoying themselves, like you said."

She smiled a little wider at him. "I'm sure she'd love it though."

"Yeah, but I just asked you," Scott said.

"I'm not trying to ditch you, Scott," she promised. "But if anyone's going to cut in, I think it would be better if it was you instead of Tony Stark."

"She'd hit him if he tried it," Scott said with a smirk.

Jean looked over at the handful of Avengers sharing drinks along the edge of the dance floor. "He really wants to."

Scott bit his lip and then nodded. "Alright. But… will you… would you save a dance for me after?"

"If you don't get swept up after by some lucky girl, I'll be waiting," Jean promised.

"I won't," Scott promised before he led her toward where his parents were dancing and tapped Logan on the shoulder. "Can I cut in?"

"First brave one here," Logan teased. "Go for it."

Scott smirked and let K take his arm - and it wasn't long before she was even giving him a few instructions on how to pull off a more formal dance. Not that Logan let the opportunity pass him by to show Jean the same thing.

"If I knew you needed dance lessons to sweep up your redhead, I'd have taught you before all this," K said.

Scott turned redder at the suggestion. "She… I dunno - she and Warren-"

"Scott, trust me. Go for it," K said. "Your Dad is teaching her just enough for you to sweep her off her feet." She took a moment and shifted his hands. "So … you should know how to do that."

Scott glanced over his shoulder at where Logan and Jean were dancing and then nodded quietly. "Yeah, probably."

K began to mutter little instructions to him that would help him on the short term. "Don't try to lead with anything but your hands yet," she said. "Little pressure to pull or push. She'll get it."

"Right, yeah," Scott said, clearly in his head.

"Scott," K said seriously once he had the hang of it. "Don't be afraid to pull her tight."

Scott blinked at her for a second before he blushed furiously. " _Mom_."

"She'll love it. I swear."

"Mom."

"She'll grin. A lot." She was still holding a mostly serious expression. "It's totally reflexive."

"I'm not…"

"You should!" she sang out.

"I don't even know if she-"

K started laughing. "I  _told you_." She held his gaze and nodded slowly. " _Go for it._ "

Scott turned a deeper shade of red for an instant, but by then, the song was ending, and Steve came over to steal a dance with K leaving Scott feeling a little dry-mouthed as he made his way over to where Logan and Jean were.

"All yours kiddo," Logan said, handing Jean's hand to Scott.

"I - okay," Scott said, still a little red-faced as he led Jean out to dance.

"Are they always so …" Jean started to ask, but fell short.

"Yeah," Scott said. "They are." He gave her a little smile as he gently led through the dance, still more than a little nervy about what K had said. "I was…" He cleared his throat. "Do you think you'd like to take a walk with me?"

"I told you before I'd love to take a walk any time, Scott," Jean said. "That still stands. If you want." she paused and blushed slightly. "Unless … you meant … something else."

Scott turned redder as well. "No… no, I meant... " He shook his head. "I just… I'm not - I was just thinking - away from everyone else and-"

"So … not a date?"

"Would… I mean…" Scott swallowed. "Well, if I meant - if I was - I'd ask you on a  _date_."

She was blushing harder by that time. "Oh."

Scott paused when he saw the way her smile dropped and shook his head. "Jean, do you - would you go on a date with me?"

She looked up at him with a touch of concern. "Only if you actually  _want_ to go on a date…"

"I - well, yeah, I wouldn't ask if - yeah, I do," Scott said quickly.

"I just don't want you to think you  _have_ to," she said.

"Why would I think that?"

"Well you were asking about a walk, and I jumped the gun …"

"I was asking about a walk tonight," Scott said. "Not… I'm glad you did," he said.

She bit her lip and it was clear, even through the glasses that she was blushing. "Oh. Okay, I thought … I didn't know … yes. To both. If you like."

"Great." Scott nodded to himself before he shifted to offer her his hand instead of leading. "We'll be back before the cake."

"Alright," Jean said, looking over her shoulder at the dancers as they headed toward the exit.


	27. Dancing And Well Wishes

K was smirking when she saw that Scott and Jean had managed to slip out of the main group when she heard someone come up to her just before she was tapped her on the shoulder and a grinning Clint waved at her with his fingers. "Hey. Congratulations. Hope it's okay that I'm invited, considering I shot you and all."

"Sure it is," K said. "I seem to remember putting your girlfriend on the ground. I think we're good." She took his hand with a little smile. "What did you have to do to get out of the house?"

Clint tapped his cufflinks. "Apparently, if I get too far away from Cap, these go off. Fun, right?"

"It would be worse for you if Logan and I were set to take you down," she said. "Count your blessings, blondie."

"Hey, I'm straight as an arrow these days," he said, one hand on his heart.

"Yeah? Good," she decided. "So … let's see if you can dance worth a damn."

"I definitely cannot, but I will successfully not step on your feet; does that count?" Clint said even as he let her lead.

"It's a start," K said. "But all the same, after what Logan told me about your girl? Are you against trying to learn a little?"

"Not at all," he promised. "I know I could use a little classing up; she's way out of my league."

"I think you'll be on the same level," K said. "She needs to get on board with the good guys still. That puts you ahead."

"What, you don't think I can convince her?" Clint asked with a crooked, cocky grin.

"If it was done on that smile alone?" K asked, one eyebrow raised. "Then she wouldn't have ditched you."

Clint frowned for a second. "Yeah. Well. Spy."

"Uh huh, I did that for a while too. More or less. The guys'll get her head straight."

"I would very much like to be a part of that," Clint said.

"Then you should probably get on 's good side."

"He can't seem to get past the whole 'tried to murder him' thing," Clint said. "Which is fair."

"Hmm," she said, looking toward Tony for a moment. "He didn't seem to hold it against me too much."

"I think yours was a little less… I mean, you hit him for wandering hands, right?"

"I mostly just stopped his hands," K said. "And put them in more acceptable places."

"See, and I once put an arrow through an eyepiece."

"Do you want me to talk to him for you?" K laughed.

"Will that end in him coming onto me? Because then I'm going to have to say 'no'." Clint paused and then added, more seriously, "Really… if you think you can get Natasha on our side… I'd love nothing more than to be a hero. Honestly. Since I was a kid."

She thought it over. "Logan and Steve say they can get her head straight, and I have a tendency to believe both of them on their own …"

"Fair enough." Clint nodded and then let out a sigh. "I just… I just know if Nat comes back and she's not on the right side - I don't know how to say no to her. I know that's what's bothering everyone."

"They'll fix her up," K said reassuringly. "But … if you want to get on Tony's good side … I'll act surprised when you spin me his way."

Clint started laughing outright at that. "I can't do that!" he said. "I'd get in trouble with  _everyone else_!"

"Not if I explained to Logan later," K said, laughing with him.

"You're forgetting about your kid and Cap and Jan…."

"My kid is off wooing a redhead of his own," K pointed out. "Jan is mooning over Hank, and Cap … I'll handle Cap if it comes to it. You can't function with Stark acting like this."

Clint shook his head, still chuckling to himself. "What do I owe you?"

"Stay on the straight and narrow," she said. "Or I'll come looking for you."

Clint put a hand on his heart. "I swear, you got a deal."

She nodded her head at that. "Good. Because I'd hate to start cutting things that would make it hard to use your bow."

Clint visibly winced. "Augh."

"Motivation, sweet boy."

"I call it blackmail, but okay," Clint said, shaking his head before he simply spun her toward Tony with a called out, "Have fun!"

"Thank you. So much, jailbird," K called out sounding irritated, though Clint knew that simply wasn't the case. "Ditched out of a dance. Rude."

"His loss," Tony said with a crooked smile. "My turn."

"Long time no see," K said. "Where you been hiding?"

"You must be mistaken. I wasn't hiding - but I can understand you not noticing me for how  _busy_ you were," he said with a smirk.

"Well. Snooze you lose, you know?"

"Yeah, you absolutely missed out on more dances with me," he shot back, grinning.

"Yet here we are," she said, smiling right back at him.

"Didn't know I had to get the idiot in purple to get your attention," Tony said, shaking his head.

"Oh, did you send him out to get me over to you?" K asked. "Devious, ."

Tony laughed. "No, but maybe I will if it works. Guy owes me a favor. Or nine hundred."

"Yeah? What did he do to owe you so much?" she asked, shifting just a bit so she could put her hands on his shoulders at a better angle.

"Man, you must have been getting some serious kisses to forget the death threat."

"You're still going on about that?" she said, shaking her head. "That was months ago."

"Um, yes. Yes I am," Tony said. "Because I like my head attached!"

"Has he tried to kill you since then?"

"Ah, no," Tony admitted. "But his partner in crime is still out there…"

"Want me to find her for you yet?"

"I thought Cap and Logan were on it."

"Yet  _they_ haven't found her," K said, shrugging.

"Yeah, I think they were distracted with this," Tony said, gesturing around at the wedding decor.

"Logan wasn't," K said, shaking her head. "Jan did all the work, last I heard."

"That's what I heard too," Tony chuckled.

"So, let me get a little time to myself … and then I'll get Logan to agree to join me in looking for her. We'll have it buttoned up before you know it."

"Aww, and all I got you was a bungalow for a getaway after the party," Tony teased.

"You're one of those bettin' fools aren't you?" she challenged with a little growl.

"Hey, I saw easy money…"

"Easy money  _lost_ ," K said.

"No risk, no reward," Tony said.

She couldn't help but laugh. "I can't believe you were betting on me like  _that_."

Tony grinned. "Hey, can you blame me? Wedding was a little fast, you know…"

"That was on Jan," K said. "We were fine on waiting. A couple years even."

"Yeah, well, the way I heard it, if you'd waited any longer, she would have literally exploded," Tony laughed.

She laughed along with him. "Well that's her problem isn't it?" She couldn't help but smile up at him. "And what about you? Where do you play into all of this?"

"Just having a little fun," he said.

"Mmmhmm," she said. "Seems to me all the sweetest boys are hung up on redheads - and you're the only one out of the group not actively pursuing. That, my handsome friend, is a shame."

Tony laughed. "Okay, wait, how did Pepper get dragged into this, huh?"

"Um … when you started making bets on how long it was going to take for me to get  _knocked up_ then you put your own ass into the crosshairs," K said in a perfectly businesslike tone. "So. either you ask her out - if you haven't already, or I'll ask her out for you."

"Okay, no, you are  _not_ making dates for me."

"Are you really trying to tell me what I can and can't do? Because that's like sealing the deal, mister. It's on now." She moved to step away from him, and predictably, he took a tighter hold on her hand and pulled her back.

"I can handle Pepper myself."

"Yeah? How about you grow a pair and prove it."

"Harsh."

"I've never in my life seen anyone so afraid of a tiny redhead," K said.

Tony shook his head. "I'm not scared of Pepper."

"Then what's your problem?" K asked, almost laughing, her shoulder dropping along with her laugh.

"Let's get one thing straight: I don't have a  _problem_."

"Then what's the hold up? You know, she's crushing incredibly hard," K said. "She's just waiting for you to  _catch. Up._ "

"Yeah,  _I know_ ," Tony said. "That's exactly why I  _haven't_  asked her!"

"So you're saying you're not interested?" she asked, scrunching her nose up. "That … is crap."

"I'm not interested in messing her up," Tony said. "She's just - she's  _great_ the way she is."

K's entire expression shifted and she closed her eyes before she popped up on her toes and pulled him closer to kiss his cheek. "You're an idiot." She shook her head. "Maybe the sweetest idiot in the game, but still an idiot. You deserve something good too, you know."

Tony shook his head at her. "I'm getting whiplash here."

"Good. Then I'm doing it right. I thought you were being a stubborn ass, but no. You're being every bit as sweet as that purple idiot. Do yourself  _and Pepper a favor_  and just … for the love of all that's holy - ask her out."

"I can't decide if I'm being insulted or not," Tony chuckled.

"Yes. A little of both," she admitted. "She's turning down guys waiting for you. And you? You're chasing all the girls you  _can't have_ to try to get past her … just … give it a try before she quits on you just to get away from her own misery at  _waiting._ "

Tony held her gaze for a long moment before he finally let out a breath. "Okay, yeah. Fine. Don't want her to  _leave_ …"

She placed her hands on both sides of his face and gave him a very quick, chaste kiss. "Go get her. You'll be pleasantly surprised."

Tony grinned at her. "Only if you give me a celebratory kiss before the date."

"I will," she said. "If that's what it takes to get you in gear."

"Oh, definitely. Definitely going to need that," Tony said, grinning steadily wider with every word.

"Report back then when you get your 'yes'," K said. "I probably won't even have to go anywhere."

Tony laughed. "Considering you'll be gone for a while, it might have to be a post-date celebration," he teased.

"And by that time, you won't even want it."

"Lies," he said. "I'll always want it."

"Then I guess save it for a rainy day," she said, shrugging up one shoulder.

"Next time it rains…"

K was shaking her head as Steve made his way over to pull her away from Tony, half frowning Tony's way. "Oh stop it. I was lighting a fire under him," K told Steve.

"Yeah?" Steve said, then smirked. "Good. About time."

"He's a slow study," K agreed.

"Okay, who said you two could team up?" Tony said, holding up both hands.

"Logan," both of them said in unison.

"Oh great," Tony said, rubbing a hand down his face. "Of course."

K looked up at Steve. "He promised me he was going to ask Pepper out. I told him he had to hurry up before she quit on him. Which … clock is ticking."

"I've been saying that for a while now," Steve agreed.

"Yeah, but I've been talking to Pepper," K said, leaning closer to Steve. "She's not happy with how things are. She will leave if  _something_ doesn't change. Girl needs some closure."

Steve leaned in as well. "And he's asking her, right? I don't have to feed him my shield?"

"He said he was, I'm telling you so you can enforce it or kick his ass. Your call. I have other things to do. Much more fun. Much more important," K agreed.

"Absolutely more important," Steve agreed, then offered her his arm. "In fact, I feel like it's my duty as an official witness to take you back to your husband."

"It absolutely is," K said, smiling up at him as she took his arm. "Though I should tell you, you're not getting your money back."

"Hey, I bet with Scott - I have a year," Steve laughed.

"We're not rushing into that, Uncle Steve."

"Hey, I'll still spoil the one you've got," Steve said with a smirk. "In case you were worried I'd favor a smaller one…"

"I'm starting to think we need to find you a nice girl to settle down with," K said, shaking her head.

"I can handle my dating life on my own," Steve laughed. "Not that I don't appreciate it."

"And we can handle figuring out when the time is right for little ones," she pointed out.

"Touche," Steve laughed as they reached Logan, and he gave her cheek a little kiss. "Congratulations, by the way."

"Thank you," she replied. "You've been amazing with all the help you've given."

"I expect to be godfather," Steve said with a troublemaking grin.

"Of course you do," she laughed as Logan simply smirked up at him.

They were just getting ready for the cake cutting ahead of the farewell when Scott and Jean poked their heads back in, both of them red-faced from more than just the cold - and holding hands as they made their way back to the crowd.

"You totally missed your mom kissing Tony Stark," Bobby said in an undertone as they met up with the rest of the teenagers.

"Not funny, Bobby," Scott said, rolling his eyes behind his glasses.

"No really," Bobby insisted. "They danced for like … two songs."

"It wasn't that kind of kiss," Warren said, shaking his head.

"Aw, how would you know, Warren?" Bobby shot back.

"Says the boy who hasn't been kissed," Warren said before he turned to Scott. "It was just a quick one." He pointed across the room. "And Stark is dancing with a redhead now. So…"

Scott frowned a bit before he followed Warren's pointing finger to see Tony deep in conversation with Pepper - and just to cement it, Jean squeezed his hand.

 _Apparently, he got a little push from your mom to ask that girl,_ Jean projected to him.

Scott relaxed a bit at that and then nodded. "Yeah, she's just trying to make everyone as happy as she is," he said, though he didn't mean to project that he'd  _also_ gotten a bit of a push from his mom.

"Well I'm glad she's doing that then," Jean said, squeezing his hand again.

"I… yeah," Scott said, smiling her way. "Yeah, me too."

A quick glance around the room pointed out all of the couples - his parents, of course, were entirely wrapped up with each other - discussing things very quietly over her shoulder as Logan wrapped her up from behind. Jan and Hank were in a corner, and she was sitting on his knee as they too, were being quiet and discussing … something. The Hudsons were simply grinning and floating around the dance floor still, and Tony and Pepper were quietly getting more involved as the night started to come to a close.

"Think you could spare one more dance?" Scott asked, offering Jean his other hand.

"I'd love it," she said, smiling at him as she took his hand. "This has been great."

"Yeah," he said. "Best night of the year."


	28. Enter Magneto

With Scott's parents off celebrating each other, the kids of Xavier's were already back to work at school - doubling down on their training with Logan gone in hopes that they wouldn't be too far behind his curve when they returned from the honeymoon.

They were looking good too - good enough that Charles was letting them run more and more simulations and tests in the Danger Room to test themselves. And Scott was seamlessly handling the direction. His natural talent in tactics was showing - even when the other team members weren't sure what he was up to until it was nearly done.

They were running yet another team practice after school when Charles reached out to them to get them to gather up for their first real mission as a whole team.

Bobby grinned at that and pumped the air. "Yes! What's on the docket, Professor X? Saving damsels in distress? Fighting crime?"

"There are reports of a dangerous mutant near JFK International," Charles said. "We need to find this mutant and get them out of harm's way before the authorities do."

"Rescuing mutants - sounds up our alley," Warren said with a smirk. "Let's go."

It took them next to no time to get suited up, and the excitement in the car on the way out was palpable. The boys were of course excited to have a chance to get some action, especially since the last time they'd had a mission was when they'd rescued Hank - if you didn't count the fight with Creed.

And Jean was obviously nervous about going out with the team for the first time, so much so that if Scott hadn't been driving, he would have been holding her hand.

 _You'll do great,_ Scott projected to Jean.  _Really._

 _We'll see,_  she replied, but it was clear right from the start that she was unsure of the whole situation.

 _Hey, as long as you don't end up getting tied up and nearly executed in the streets, you'll have me beat,_ he reminded her, the smile apparent even if he hadn't looked away from the road.

Jean gave him a soft smile, though it was a little forced.  _Like I said: we'll see._

Scott didn't try to argue with her too much after that; after all, he remembered being just as nervous starting out. He was  _still_ nervous, so he didn't have much of a leg to stand on. After all, even with all the training they'd been putting in, they were one-for-one on wins and losses, one-for-two if he counted Bobby as a loss, since they were captured. Though he figured that was a draw, since K had gotten them out. But they'd been trounced by Creed, even if they had wrecked the bad guys when they met Hank.

Still, Scott felt confident that the team could handle whoever was out there. Sabretooth was a pretty extreme 'second mission', and Scott had to hope that a 'mutant in distress' wasn't going to be nearly that terrible to deal with.

When they arrived, the airport was already on high alert, with the security workers already nervous and a little twitchy - which couldn't be good for anyone. They didn't want these guys to decide that this mutant was a threat and shoot him or her before the X-Men could get there.

The five teenagers piled out of the car and spread out to look for the mutant in question - but before they could get too far into their search, the unseen mutant made himself known when, all at once, all of the guards' weapons crumpled in on themselves, completely useless in their hands.

Of course, that was just when the X-Men had gotten close enough that they were the first ones that the guards spotted, and the shouts went up as the guards decided the costumed kids had to be the source of the problem.

"Freeze!" one of the guards shouted.

Without guns, though, it was hard to enforce the threat, even though Bobby was muttered, "It's like… it's calling my name. Can't I just ice up the floor?"

"We're not here to fight the airport security if we can help it," Scott said.

"They're the ones yelling at us," Bobby pointed out.

All at once, there was a scraping sort of noise that only got louder the longer they stood there, and as Scott realized what exactly the noise was - a long stretch of chain link fence shot between the team and the guards only to snake around the guards tightly as it wrapped around them over and over. The individual wires seemed to weave themselves together at the top - making escaping the too-tight tangle of wires next to impossible. But the guards certainly weren't going to be bothering the team.

"Umm. Okay," Bobby said. "What."

"And what brings you young people here?" a booming sort of voice called out - rich and smooth even with its volume. "Have you come to join the good fight? Stand tall against mutant oppression?"

The X-Men all shared a look, and Hank seemed to tip his head Scott's way as if to say 'you're the leader', which had Scott shaking his head as he tried to find the source of the voice. "That's sort of the point of the team," he said. "We're trying to help mutants."

"What a lovely coincidence," the stranger said before he finally showed himself - floating down on a flat disc of metal, cape flowing behind him. "That's exactly what I was doing." He gestured to the hangar he'd clearly come out of and there was the distant sound of someone calling for help before he extended his hand and clenched his fist - crumpling the entire hangar down to a mass the size of a small car. "Now. Who sent you here?"

The X-Men were all shocked - and Hank was already several steps toward the hangar even if it was clearly a lost cause. "What did you do?" Hank asked, some of his shock turning to anger.

"I removed a particularly nasty weed from the gene pool," he said. "One of the men responsible for mutant hunting technology."

"You killed him," Warren said, and while he tried to look angrier, his nerves were showing in the way his wings fluttered.

"I found that talking to him was more trying than listening to what he wanted to accomplish."

The X-Men glanced at each other, obviously at a loss as to what to do. They had come to save a mutant in trouble and instead here was another killer mutant…

"You can't do that," Scott said. "You can't just - you can't just kill people."

"Then what was it you were intending to do, my boy?" he asked, turning fully toward Scott and even slowly descending to a more reasonable altitude to speak.

"We heard there was a mutant here," Scott said. "We came to help." He gestured toward the guards with one hand thrown out behind him. "Maybe you don't need our help getting out of here, but you don't have to go murdering everyone who threatens you either!"

He chuckled low, his expression both amused and condescending at once. "What makes you think that mouth breather was a threat to  _me_?"

Scott stopped for a moment and then narrowed his eyes behind the visor. "If he wasn't even a threat, why kill him?"

"Because his technology was being used in development of a weapon that will threaten mutant kind for  _decades_ to come should it come to fruition," he said. "I'm protecting  _you_. Your generation."

"So trash the technology," Scott said. "Turn him over to someone who'll keep him contained."

He smirked. "The lab is already destroyed." he leaned forward. "And who do you think might contain him? Our government was commissioning him to do this."

"The Avengers," Scott said.

He laughed and waved a hand. "Will never be of any use," he chuckled. "Not in matters that concern mutants." He tipped his head to the side. "Who is it you work for, Mr …"

"Cyclops," Scott said, not trusting the guy with anything more than that. "I'm an X-Man. We don't work for any government or any team - we're just trying to help."

"An X-Man?" he frowned and took better stock of the uniforms the group was wearing. "Tell me, young Cyclops, how do you envision the future?"

Scott tipped his chin up. "We're trying to live by a rule of peaceful coexistence," he said. "Right now, that means saving mutants from angry mobs - or angry older mutants, apparently." He shook his head. "But we're trying to show the world our powers can  _help_."

The man smirked and tipped his chin to his chest. "Do tell Charles I send my regards."

The five X-Men all froze, and though they did try to recover, it was clear that there wasn't really any way to deny it.

"How do you know the professor?" Jean asked, taking a few steps Scott's way, though all of their gazes were on the floating man in the cape.

"He's an old friend," he said. "Tell him Magneto said hello - and that I'm still waiting."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound ominous," Bobby muttered under his breath.

Magneto didn't try to argue with them at the time, instead simply rising up higher until he was out of sight, leaving the fledgling X-Men staring at where he'd disappeared.

"Okay… so… I'm not the only one who didn't know Professor X had a supervillain friend, right? Tell me I'm not alone in this," Bobby said after a long bout of silence.

"No," Scott said, frowning to himself. He turned toward Jean. "Did you catch anything from him?"

Jean shook her head. "No… I couldn't 'read' him," she admitted. "I'm sorry."

"We'll just have to ask the professor about this 'Magneto' then," Scott said. "It's fine - you can't read my parents either. Maybe he's got a similar shield." He paused and looked toward the trapped security guards. "Iceman, you want to help me get those guys out?"

"Um. okay," Bobby said. "But … we did not practice peeling fencing off of people."

"I think I can cut it with a fine beam, but I'm a little worried about heating up the metal," Scott admitted. "Maybe if we work in tandem we can shatter it."

"Oh, well. I can try, sure," Bobby said, raising his hands and setting his feet wide. "Ready when you are."

With both Bobby and Scott working on freeing the guards, they were able to break open the fence wrapping - and as soon as they'd done that, the whole group of X-Men booked it out of there, not willing to risk sticking around when the guards hadn't exactly been friendly before.

The kids were still quiet as they drove back to Westchester - mostly because they were still trying to figure out what Magneto was even talking about. But it was safe to say they were all preoccupied by the time they arrived - enough so that Charles was well-aware of how the mission had gone simply by the concentrated thoughts of the whole group.

"I take it you're all unharmed," Charles said. "And the lack of an additional person tells me that you didn't have any luck with this mutant?"

"You could say that," Warren said.

"You could  _also_ say, um, hey, Professor X, why do you have a supervillain in your phonebook?" Bobby put in, looking totally alarmed.

Charles frowned and took a moment to search their memories of what had happened before realization hit him. "Erik," he said softly.

"Who's that?" Bobby asked.

"An old friend," Charles said. "We used to once share a vision for the future, but how it was achieved … let's just say we didn't see eye to eye on the basic principles behind how it could come to pass."

"He murdered someone at the airport," Scott said frankly.

"As I said," Charles muttered. "We no longer see eye to eye."

"He said the man was working on something to track mutants," Hank said.

Charles nodded at that. "It's long been a concern," Charles said. "And I'm afraid that it gets closer to exactly what he fears the more that he acts as he does."

"Prove them right that we're dangerous and they'll just be more afraid," Scott said quietly.

"He … Erik didn't have a reasonable beginning in life," Charles said mildly. "He spent years in concentration camps during the war."

The five teenagers shared looks at that, not entirely sure how to respond. "Oh," Warren said at last.

"As you can imagine, he sees what he fears most in every political change. Every new law. Every argument."

"But even with that, he can't just… kill everyone," Scott argued.

"Scott, he watched his entire family die in front of him," Charles said. "He isn't of the proper mindset to control himself. Not when he thinks history is doomed to repeat itself again in his lifetime. As wrong as he is, he is willing to do anything to avoid that same horror recurring."

"Then shouldn't we, I don't know, try to help him?" Bobby asked.

"I've tried to help him for decades," Charles said. "One must want help before they can be helped, and he believes that he's in the right - and that any means - killing innocents included, is an acceptable price to pay."

"Then we have to make sure he doesn't go that far," Scott said. "Even if he's trying to help, like you said, that doesn't mean we shouldn't step in."

"Exactly," Charles said with a sigh.

"So, um, how do we do that?" Bobby asked. "I mean, not to bring the mood down but… the guy took on an airport full of people and crushed a hangar with one hand?"

"He manipulates metal," Charles said. "As long as there is metal around, he'll use it to his advantage." He drew in a deep breath. "The helmet he wears blocks telepathic interference."

"No wonder I couldn't read him," Jean said with a frown.

"At least we know now," Scott pointed out. "I thought it might be that he had a natural shield, like my parents…"

"Your parents mutation helps with their shielding, Erik purposely found something that would stop me from 'interfering'." Charles shook his head. "I would  _never_ do such a thing as interfere with someone's free will."

"But you're not the only telepath in the world," Scott said. He paused, frowned, and let his shoulders drop. "I know the department had telepaths," he added, more softly.

"How … do you know that?" Bobby asked.

"I asked," Scott said. "After the department came after me and my dad - I asked them both what I needed to know and learn to keep them off our backs."

"And they said they had telepaths in this department?" Hank asked, looking slightly alarmed.

"Well, that sort of came out after the professor showed up - that's why they didn't trust him at first," Scott admitted.

"But … they've seemed fine with the prof," Warren said.

"And your mom vouched for him to my parents," Bobby added.

"Yeah, well…" Scott let out a breath. "The professor actually approached me a while before I came to the school. I told him no at first. And then my parents looked into him until they were sure he wasn't… you know…" He shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. "Going to do… experiments or something."

The rest of the team was quiet for a moment. "I guess that explains the murder dress," Bobby said.

"It was not a murder dress," Scott said, rubbing his forehead with one hand.

"Your  _dad_ said it was a murder dress," Bobby said, crossing his arms.

"We're not talking about the murder dress," Scott said in a frustrated tone.

Bobby pointed his way. "Ah-HA! But  _you're_ calling it that, too!"

Jean had her hand over her mouth to cover the smile as she turned away from the boys. The image in Bobby's memory was clear, and there was nothing she could see that screamed murder, but the way that Bobby was defending his position was too much to ignore.

"It was  _not_ a murder dress!" Scott insisted.

"Yes, well I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Scott since no murder was committed that night," Charles said. "Sorry to dash your imagination, Mr. Drake."

"Spoilsport," Bobby muttered.

"That's not the point anyway," Scott said. "The point is that there's a powerful mutant out there killing people and we need to know how to stop that.'

"We'll have a hard time pinning him down," Charles said. "But I'll keep an eye out for him now that I know he's operating. He can't wear the helmet all the time."

"You never know… if he's as paranoid as you think he is…" Bobby muttered. "Sleeps with one eye open…"

Charles gave him a dry look. "We can come up with a strategy once you're all settled and out of uniform."

"Great," Scott said with a nod, though the others were already heading off to change.


	29. I Bless The Rains Down In Africa

After the weird sort of … standoff with Magneto, the X-Men were ready to try again. They wanted to have something they could call a 'win' under their belts.

So when the professor told them that there was a mutant who had been trapped in a village by a tribe worshipping her as a goddess… they were ready to try again.

"What do we know about this girl?" Scott asked.

Charles smiled. "She's the daughter of an American doctor," he said. "She grew up near the village she's in now - and from what I can decipher from those around her - she controls the weather."

"Okay,  _that_ is amazing," Warren said, both eyebrows raised.

Charles smiled his way, nodding. "Yes, it truly is extraordinary."

"So, how do we win her over to yellow suits when she's literally being worshipped?" Bobby pointed out. "I mean… this place is nice, Professor X, but it's not  _goddess_ nice."

"There has been a lot of trouble from the warring factions nearby," Charles said. "There have been threats made both to her and the safety of her people. I am confident that she'll consider us at the very least."

Hank nodded at that. "And if nothing else, we can offer help if she  _is_ in danger."

"Damsel in distress," Bobby said under his breath with a crooked smile.

"Perhaps," Charles said. "If the situation escalates, I'll be sure to keep you informed."

With the last look toward what little they knew, the team headed out to find the goddess. The flight was a long one - the longest that any of them had taken, but the whole group was more than a little excited at the prospect of meeting someone who had gained such notoriety even in her limited circle of influence.

"I hope she comes with us," Jean said with a smile. "It would be nice to have another girl around."

"Yeah, I'm sure Mom will say the same thing when she and Dad get back from their honeymoon," Scott agreed with a smirk.

"How long are they supposed to be gone again?" Jean asked, smirking to herself.

"Three weeks," Scott said. He paused, smirked her way, and admitted, "And this is week four."

"Simple mistaken math … or …"

"Yeah, I'm sure they know they passed the mark," Scott said. "No one's going to stop them either - and they know that too."

She bit her lip and laughed to herself. "They're a horrible example, you know …"

"I know," Scott said with a little smirk. "I'd have at least called to say I was going to be late."

She turned toward him with a scandalized look on her face. " _Scott_."

"What?" he asked, though he was smirking harder. "It's responsible."

She couldn't stop the honest grin as she shook her head and swatted at his arm. "You're hilarious, you little troublemaker, you."

Scott grinned right back at her. "What trouble? I told you - it's the responsible thing to do. You're the one reading into it."

She was still giggling at him. "Yes. Yes I am," she agreed. "Seeing as everyone -  _including us -_ was betting on when you'll get a little sibling."

"You might just win," Scott said. "You said half a year, right?"

"I did," she agreed. "But Cap said honeymoon baby."

"He changed his bet, then," Scott said.

"He keeps changing his mind," Jean agreed. "Your mom gave him a talking to for betting on that. But then … you know. When your Dad swept her up like he did … he got started again."

"It's hard to argue with the way they are," Scott agreed. "You know, they've been like that pretty much since they met. There was a hiccup with the fact that she'd been in the department too, but… they got over that fast."

"Was that before or after she was playing around with an Avenger?" Jean teased, giving him a sideways look. "I may have seen a few things …"

"She and Tony were  _never_ serious," Scott said.

"I know," Jean said. "I've seen the way she looks at your dad. It's just not there with Tony Stark, even if he wishes he'd had a better shot."

Scott smirked for a second and then leaned back. "Actually, I'm pretty sure it was after Sabretooth came after her the first time," he said. "If you want to know the truth."

"Oh?" Jean asked, turning to face him and resting her chin in her hand. "What happened there?"

"I blasted him into the next freeway exit," Scott said with a smirk. "And Dad got protective fast."

Jean smiled a little wider. "What did that look like? Protective, I mean."

"When SHIELD picked us up, he wasn't shy about making sure the agents didn't get in his way of sticking with her," Scott said. "Not that I blame him. Knowing what the department did… I wouldn't trust either of them alone with any government types. I'd do the same thing for either of them."

She watched him for a long moment. "You've referred to the department a lot, but you haven't really … I mean … I know. It's not your story all the way, but if it's possible that they might come after one of us …"

Scott frowned at that, and she watched his gaze slide from her face to the other teammates and then back to Jean. "I don't think…" He let his shoulders drop. "That's a good point. They were interested in me as soon as they saw what I could do. No reason to think they wouldn't want to use the rest of the team too."

"You don't have to say anything now, Scott. But … you know. If you feel like warning us, or even me … I'm always here to listen."

Scott nodded at that. "Maybe… I should sit down with the professor. And you," he added quickly. "I just meant - you're not the only one who needs to know."

"No, I understand," Jean said. "You know that they don't like to share. Not with things like that."

"It's not exactly the kind of conversation you'd want to have on a walk," Scott said with a quiet smirk.

_And we have other things to discuss on walks_ , Jean projected to him before she gave him a shy sort of smile.

Scott flushed a bit.  _Like what?_

She bit her lip and blushed up to her ears.  _Oh … anything, really._

Scott watched her for a second before he nodded.  _Or… nothing,_ he said, though he was sure his ears were as red as his glasses.

She was grinning outright.  _Exactly._

"Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like it's not any better when they're flirting telepathically?" Bobby asked loud enough to break into the conversation.

"Robert," Hank said, shaking his head. "I believe it's worse when they know they have an audience that's hanging on their every move."

"I'm just saying," Bobby said, gesturing to Scott and Jean with one hand. "We all know what's going on here. Telepathic makeout session. For  _shame_."

"There's no telepathic makeout session," Scott said, almost gritting his teeth.

"Maybe there should be," Warren couldn't help but add - which had Bobby laughing outright.

"See? Warren's on my side here," Bobby said.

"Not really," Warren said. "But it might get him to relax a little."

"You're not helping," Scott said, even though the others noticed that he had almost unconsciously moved closer to Jean.

"I can't help it if you're like this," Warren said.

"But Jean can!" Bobby laughed outright.

Jean turned his way with a little glare. "Watch it, Bobby."

Bobby held up his hands, still laughing. "Hey, can't help that I'm right."

Jean glared a little harder and then turned to Scott almost conversationally. "I'm really glad your mom taught me a few things before she headed off with your dad." She put on a wicked sort of smile. "Want me to demo with Bobby?"

But that finally got Bobby to let up on the teasing, shaking his head quickly as the smile fell. "No thank you. No demo needed here - nope!"

"Are you sure?" Jean asked sweetly. "It's no trouble."

"Very. Very sure," Bobby said, which had Scott smirking harder.

Jean tipped her nose up and gave Scott a sideways smile before she settled into her seat for the remainder of the trip, and he couldn't help but give her hand a little squeeze, failing completely at hiding his smile.

* * *

Eventually, they did land not far from where the mutant girl's village was, and the little group of X-Men gathered up to head out - though they got a little more serious when Charles contacted them with a new message: Speed is of the utmost importance. The girl is in danger.

"I can mask us if we need it," Jean said. "I can't do it forever, but I can keep us hidden."

Scott raised an eyebrow Jean's way and then nodded. "If we need it," he agreed. "But let's see what the story is first."

Jean nodded at that and half-held her breath as they started toward the village, where there was absolutely some kind of kerfuffle going on that was a step or two more serious looking than the kids were used to. There were armed rebels in the street shouting at the villagers, and it didn't take long with Jean concentrating to realize … "they're looking for her. There was some kind of an incident."

"Can you find her first?" Scott asked.

Jean frowned, but nodded her head. "Yeah, I think so," she said. "I can see what she looks like … I just need to … figure out who's helping her hide." She closed her eyes, her fingertips resting at her temples as she concentrated. She was frowning, biting on her bottom lip as she searched before finally, she opened her eyes and started down a well worn path that led partly out of the village. "She's scared for their sake."

"I would be too," Warren said, frowning toward the path where they'd just turned - they could still hear shouting voices drifting their way.

The group worked their way toward an almost hidden house near a waterfall, though they didn't get all the way up to it before someone stepped out, looking half scared, half ready to fight. She was tall and regal looking - her hands in fists at her sides, but the most striking thing about her was her snow-white hair and icy blue eyes. "Who sent you here?" she demanded. "Are you with the rebels?" Even as she spoke, the clouds were gathering above them and thunder was rolling in the distance.

Bobby glanced up at the sky and let out a low whistle even as Scott held up his hands. "We're not with the rebels," he swore. "We came here to help."

"How can you help?" she asked, openly looking them up and down.

"We're the X-Men," Bobby offered. "You know, good guys."

She narrowed her eyes slightly, watching them as the sounds of panic from the soldiers echoed over to them. "Speak quickly." Several other people stepped out behind the tall young woman, frowning at the newcomers.

"We're students," Jean said quickly. "Our professor set up an institute for people like us. People with powers." She nodded toward Warren, who was the most obviously mutated. "We're trying to save other mutants from being hunted down for their differences - or mistreated - or whatever the case may be."

She watched them for a bit longer as one of the people with her leaned in and spoke to her in hushed tones, though it seemed she was weighing all of their words. "I only want to keep them safe," she said quietly. "I don't know how to ensure that if I'm not here."

"They're looking for you," Jean said quietly. "They want to kill you. You have to know that."

"Yes, I know," she replied.

"You could come with us," Scott offered. "If they see you leave with us, they'll stop looking in the village - they'll leave the people alone."

She sighed, though it was clear already that the choice had been made for her by the expression on her face. "I can see no other path. But I have no interest if I will only be hiding."

Scott gestured around the group. "That's why we formed a team. We all feel the same way - we're trying to use our powers to help people. Show the world the good mutants can do - and save other kids who don't have any choice in who they are either."

She drew in a deep breath, drawing herself up further - somehow. "Then perhaps I could help you with your cause," she said. "I'm Ororo Munroe."

"Cyclops," Scott said. "At least, on the team. That's Iceman, Beast, Angel, and Marvel Girl," he added, going down the line.

She smirked at that. "Well, Cyclops, if they indeed want to see me dead, perhaps we can finish this elsewhere." She looked beyond them. "Do you need cover?" As she asked the question, her eyes seemed to cloud over and a thick mist appeared out of nowhere.

"That is so cool," Bobby said with a grin.

Ororo smirked at him and then tipped her chin up for them to lead the way. "How did you get here?" she asked quietly.

"We have a jet," Scott explained. "It's not too far from here."

"I've never flown like that," she said, smirking at her own inside joke as they made their way to the jet, and within moments, they were safely inside, and the fog dispersed.

"Seriously," Bobby said, grinning out the window as the fog dispersed. "All I can do is ice and snow." To prove it, he held out his hand to show her as an ice crystal formed at the center of his palm.

She smirked at him a little wider. "I'm not overly familiar with snow," she said.

"Well, yeah, you live in a desert. Which, by the way, is no fun with my powers, let me tell you," Bobby said, making a face.

Ororo smirked a little wider as her eyes clouded over again, and a moment later there was a tiny rain cloud over his head - complete with showers, drenching him properly. "Is that better?" she asked in a perfectly amused tone.

As Bobby spluttered and wiped the water out of his eyes, Scott chuckled and leaned over to offer Ororo his hand. "Let's try those introductions again," he said. "I'm Scott."

Ororo smiled at him as she shook his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Scott. You and your amusingly wet friend..." she turned toward Bobby with one eyebrow raised.

"Bobby," he said, grinning at her as he pushed his bangs out of the way. "Bobby Drake.'

The rest of the team went around one by one - with Ororo either shaking their hand or tipping her head their way if they were too far away from her for a handshake. She settled in almost reluctantly before she frowned to herself. "I didn't manage to bring anything of use with me," Ororo said.

"That's alright," Jean promised. "I have a friend who loves to design, and she's dying to have another girl to design for, if you're worried about clothes."

"Are you the only other young woman at this ...place?" Ororo asked.

"Well, yes," Jean said. "I mean… Scott's parents are there too, but they're on their honeymoon right now, so…"

She raised an eyebrow at that, and glanced toward Scott. "Alright, then I suppose we'll have to make do with just us."

"The school is really just starting," Scott explained. "I was the first student, and then Bobby, and then we all sort of trickled in."

"It's not a criticism," Ororo replied. "It's just a very different setting for me."

"The snow alone would be different," Warren said with a smirk. "We just had a late dusting… after the blizzard on St. Patrick's Day."

"Then I look forward to learning how to make it snow," Ororo replied.

"It will be nice to have someone to teach Bobby a lesson in snowball fights," Hanks said with a smirk. "He's a terrible cheater."

"I'll simply have to summon hurricane winds," she said, turning Bobby's way.

"Hey, have I done anything to earn any of this?" Bobby said, holding up his hands. "No! I introduced myself and that's it."

"My apologies," Ororo said in a laugh. "You just seem the type with a target on your back."

"Apparently," Bobby said, shaking his head.

The flight was filled with questions both directions, but when the group landed, the first thing Ororo did was to ask the best way to get outside … even before speaking to Charles. As soon as she was once again in the open, she closed her eyes and tipped her face skyward before she simply summoned the winds required to lift off the ground and rise high into the air, arms outstretched as she searched out this new climate around her.

Warren raised an eyebrow before he took off as well, grinning as he flew closer to her. "Showing off already?" he called out.

She turned his way with a smile. "No, just learning my way here," she replied. "I've never had anyone to fly with before."

"Me neither," Warren said. "Jean can float a bit, but it's not quite the same."

She smiled. "I can give you an updraft if you like …"

He grinned at that. "Bring it on!"

It took the two of them no time at all before they were soaring to fresh heights - and he was truly enjoying the speed she was helping him tackle. By the time they landed again, both of them were in high spirits - and it was pretty clear to the whole group that Ororo was going to fit in just fine.

….

Even though Scott had agreed to this session with Jean and Charles, he was still a little nervous about it. It wasn't that he didn't agree with Jean - he could absolutely understand why the rest of the team and the professor needed to know more about the department. He'd been treating the department like an issue specific to his family, but… Jean was right. They'd probably love to get their hands on any one of the X-Men.

Beyond that, Scott was sure that the department had already put the professor in the crosshairs, so there was that to consider as well.

Still, he wasn't exactly looking forward to reliving his memories of the department. The stories Logan and K had shared with him were one thing, but thus far, actually dealing with the department himself had not been pleasant.

"Are you sure you want me here?" Jean asked when Scott tried to get comfortable on the couch in Charles' study. "Because … if you're nervous …"

"I'm sure," Scott promised.

She gave him a little reassuring smile as she rested her hand on his wrist before the three of them waded into Scott's mindscape.

Scott had already been doing this enough with Charles that he knew where to lead them, starting with his memories just after the department had shot up his dad, when K and Logan were filling him in on what he needed to know. He showed them the confrontation with Sabretooth and the conversations after that … before he finally went back to show them the night in Oregon when K had come to save them both.

Charles had already seen that part of things, but Jean hadn't, so seeing the way the department handled things - from the way they subdued Logan to the response to Scott - was a little jarring.

Jean couldn't help but think that the rest of the team would straighten up if they knew even half of this, but she certainly wasn't going to voice her opinion when she was supposed to be playing tourist more or less in Scott's mind. But even in the psychic plane, she couldn't help but reach for his hand when it got overly rough.

Scott frowned as he took her hand. "Told you it wasn't nice."

"I believed you," Jean swore.

"You - if you don't want to stay -"

"I'll stay if you have more to share," Jean said. "You just … if it was me, I'd want someone to hold my hand."

Scott had to smile at that. "Thanks," he said. "I don't think there's anything else… I just know it - I mean, it was rough for me. Don't want anyone else to get upset if I can help it."

"But it's important," Jean said. "I'm sure we'd all rather be prepared for what could happen than to be surprised if it does."

"I really hope we don't have to deal with them," Scott said. "I know it's overly optimistic, but…" He paused and looked her way more fully. "I'd hate for them to come after you."

She gave him a little smile. "And I'd hate for them to go after you. So let's not give them the chance. We should come up with a way to handle them."

"You mean other than my brilliant plan of leveling everything in a block?" he asked with a self-deprecating smile.

"That is an amazing and brilliant plan," she said. "I love it. But we should have other plans in case they are prepared for your big whammy."

"Yeah, I can't argue that," Scott said with a little smile. "What do you think, professor?"

"I think you should discuss all of your options," Charles said with an understated sort of smile. "For instance, has Jean showed you how adept she's become at putting people to sleep?"

"No, I haven't seen that," Scott said. "Do you think you could do that on this many people, though?"

"Well … my concern is that I might do it to all of you too," Jean said, scrunching her shoulders up to her ears.

"Okay, so we'll mark that as a plan for if all of us are down anyway," Scott said.

"Well … it wouldn't be so bad if I could just … levitate everyone out …"

"We'll just have to practice that," Scott said. "That's the whole point, right? I know you're working on it, just like I'm working on mine. If I can manage thirty seconds without the glow, I'm sure you can levitate the team."

She smiled up at him. "You're the best kind of optimist." She looked over to Charles for a moment. "Um … do we need to do anything else right now?"

Charles smirked and shook his head. "I'm sure you have the information you need."

The two of them headed out of Charles' study and once they were well away from anyone and everything, and more or less out of any possibilities to discuss, Jean took a chance and popped up on her toes to give him a quick, but very gentle kiss before blushing deeply.

Scott blinked at her for a moment before he broke into a grin. "What was that for?"

She floundered for a moment and then finally simply grinned. "It … seemed like a good idea. Was that okay?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding and unable to stop grinning. "Yeah, that was a great idea."

She couldn't stop her own grin either, and she simply laced their fingers together when she took his hand. "Well, let me know if you come up with any other great ideas and I'll do the same, okay?"

Scott grinned and then tugged on her hand to turn her so he could kiss her back, just as quick, and tip his head slightly. "I mean… great minds…"

"I think I like this brainstorming session."

Scott had to laugh at that, taking her other hand. "Thanks for coming with me, Jean," he said.

"Thanks for trusting me," she replied. "I know that can't be very easy to do when you've heard your parents concerns over telepaths."

"I don't think you'd do anything like that, though," Scott said. "You're not - I mean… I can't just paint all telepaths in one brush, especially when you're like me - just learning to use your powers…"

"Well I'm sure that the only ones they came across were the ones that those creeps were … hiring. Or using … or … whatever." She shook her head. "I wouldn't trust them either in their shoes."

"Good thing you're not like that," Scott said with a little smile.

Just as she was leaning in to give him another kiss, Bobby interrupted their little discussion with a wolf whistle, and before he could get too wound up, Jean turned his way with one hand at her temple and the other outstretched.

"Sleep," she said with one eyebrow raised - and an instant later, Bobby simply passed out where he stood - snores and all.

Scott blinked for a second before he couldn't help but smirk. "You are on our side, right?" he couldn't help but tease.

She bit her lip and nodded. "No one really gets to prank him right. He was totally asking for it."

He shook his head at that. "He was," he said. "How long is he going to be sleeping on the floor… and how opposed are you to shaving cream…?"

"Just … maybe half an hour," she said. "And I'll get the camera if you get the shaving cream."

Scott grinned even wider and kissed her cheek. "Be right back."


	30. Well Balanced Cyclops

The first mission that the X-Men ran with Storm rounding out the team as their sixth member went off without a hitch. A mob had formed in Harlem coming after a young mutant, and while the girl and her parents didn't want to take them up on the offer of going to the institute, the X-Men had still been able to stage a rescue and were feeling pretty good about themselves.

They were all headed inside to change when Warren spotted the lights further out on the grounds. "Did your parents get back?" he asked, gesturing to the boathouse.

Scott's eyebrows shot up, and he opted not to change before he switched directions and ran out to the boathouse with a grin. He rapped on the door and called out, "Welcome back!"

"It's open," Logan called back. "And  _you_ don't need to knock."

"Just being careful," Scott replied as he let himself in and grinned when he saw that his parents were still perfectly curled up with each other. "Nice to see you again."

"Look at you, all tall and heroic looking," K said. "Tall drink of caramel mocha..."

"Ready to team up with Cap yet?" Logan asked with a smirk. "He'd love it."

"I don't know if we're up to Avengers level yet," Scott said.

"I'm not sure all the  _Avengers_ are up to Avengers level yet," K said. "They made that archer an Avenger. Or … a junior Avenger trainee … something."

"That's not a thing," Scott laughed.

"It could be," she said, pulling her feet up further under her as she rested her head on Logan's shoulder. "Start out polishing Stark's armor. Just the butt plate though."

"No wonder they haven't had any new Avengers but the one you captured for them," Scott said dryly.

"It's a dirty job," Logan chuckled. "What's been goin' on anyhow?"

"We've got a new team member," Scott said with a grin. "Her codename's Storm - you'll see why if you ever stop by during practice."

"Ooh, I like that," K said.

"We'll stop by if you need us to," Logan said. "I'm guessin' you're already workin' out your own regimen now."

"Well, yeah, but I think they listen to Mom more than me," Scott said with a shrug. "At least on self-defense."

"Only because they've seen her fight Creed," Logan said, smirking her way. "The size difference is enough."

Scott smirked at that and then tipped his head Logan's way. "I spent some time with Jean and the professor - going over some plans for if the department looks at the school. Jean pointed out that it's not like they wouldn't come after my team if they thought they could use them."

"If they can't weaponize an ability, they won't look too hard," Logan said. "They were in the market to create or control super soldiers."

"Yeah, well, Jean's a telepath, I've got these-" Scott tapped the side of his temple. "-Hank's got a lot of the same enhanced senses as you. Oh, and you should see Ororo - that's Storm. Literal weather control. She said she created a tornado once when she got angry." Scott held his hands out. "Nothing weaponizable there."

Logan smirked at him for that. "Nice to see you, smartass."

"Missed you too," Scott said with a grin.

"So," Logan said. "How long you been kissin' the redhead?"

The bright red color Scott turned was almost answer enough. "What?"

"Kissing. Redhead. How long?"

"Or did we interrupt somehow?" K added.

"You didn't - we just -"

Both of them were grinning at him as he stammered. "When's your next date?" Logan asked. "You can take the Jeep."

"We…" Scott rubbed the back of his neck. "We went out to dinner last night," he admitted.

"Yes, good … and when's the next one?" K asked. "You can take her skating … big strong Alaskan like yourself should be able to skate …. Especially after all the practice Bobby's been giving you."

"Oh ha ha," Scott said.

"Or … you know … you could just take her for a picnic," K said. "That  _always_ works out well."

"That… actually would be fun," Scott admitted. "We mostly walk around the grounds when we're not in class or training."

"So it's an  _ongoing_ date," Logan teased.

"No, it's just…

"Every spare minute the two of you have," Logan said. " _Ongoing_."

"Wonder where he learned that from," K deadpanned.

Scott shook his head and let out a breath. "So what gave me away, anyway? I just got back from a mission; I'm sure I smell like a hundred angry drunk mob men…"

"I used to own a bar," Logan said flatly. "Drunks don't mean much most of the time, scent wise."

"Yeah, but I'm saying it's not like I smell like I've just been on a leisurely walk with Jean." Scott gestured to his uniform. "Come on. What did I do to earn an interrogation?"

The two of them shared a look and K shrugged before Logan shook his head. "You're relaxed. Other than that, we were talkin' about it, figured it was a matter of time."

"After the dance at the reception?" Scott asked.

"After you  _met_ ," Logan clarified.

"Oh come on," Scott said, though he was redder for the pronouncement.

"I think it's adorable," K said as she got up to give him a little hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Not everyone can meet and fall in love over a hail of gunfire." She gave him another squeeze. "You did your best."

"That reminds me," Scott said, shaking his head at her, "I showed Jean that memory… trying to explain the department and what they do. Easier to just… show."

K frowned at that. "But you've been so good with your words," she said.

Scott gave her a dry look. "Yeah. Sure."

"Okay, so you showed her and she kissed you, right?" Logan teased. "Not a bad way to do it. I can think of better."

"That wasn't… that wasn't the point of the- that wasn't what I was trying to-"

"But it worked anyhow."

"Yeah, but that wasn't - you make it sound like- no!"

"Alright, got it. You showed her the department which wasn't at all a ploy to get a kiss, even if it did anyhow," Logan said. "And …"

"And we've got a few ideas on how to deal with them if the team ever comes across them," Scott said, then paused and smirked. "You know, outside of leveling a block with an optic blast."

"But I like that one," K said. "That's a good one."

"Yeah, but what if I'm not there?" Scott said. "Can't leave the team hanging."

"Then they can freak out until you ride in on your white horse and blast 'em."

Scott smirked. "Yeah, well, Jean can put them to sleep."

"That's not the kind of endorsement you usually hear out of a new boyfriend," Logan chuckled.

"Ha ha." Scott rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "I meant telepathically. And Storm already said she'd love to call down a little lightning and fry anyone who tried to drag her off, so I think she's set too."

"What about the other three?" Logan asked. "The girls have it covered, and of course you … but what about the guys?"

"We've been working on some of the techniques you showed me - breaking holds, disarming, that kind of thing," Scott admitted. "That and Bobby is pretty sure he can freeze half the platoon into a giant ice block if he works up to it."

"Sounds good. The one with wings could just book it, if he's lucky. And the brainiac?"

"Hank can fight," Scott said. "He doesn't like to, but he can."

"Then you're all set," Logan said, nodding. "Just have to practice it."

"Yeah, we've been hitting training every day," Scott said. "I think we're all getting better at it. I can almost change the focus on my beams without the visor training wheels. I still think it might be good if you and Mom could give us some insights on how the department operates… I really only have second hand knowledge and that one time they got the jump on me…"

The two of them shared a look and K shrugged. "It's really usually targeted for whoever or whatever they're going after." She shook her head. "They wouldn't even use the same approach on me that they would Logan."

"Then you could help," Scott said. "We're getting pretty good at working as a team, but we don't have enough experience to set the scenarios the way I'd like… get beyond basic bad guys and play with some strategy…"

"We'll watch you work," Logan said. "And figure out how to explain it."

Scott grinned. "Thanks." He gave Logan a quick hug and did the same for K before his expression was a little more troublemaking. "Oh, and Captain America wants to know if the reason you two were so late coming back is that you don't want to admit he won the bet. Just so you know."

Logan was shaking his head with a smirk, but K had a glare on. "Okay. So, I'll let Logan watch you guys tomorrow. I'm gonna go have a word with Mr. Spangles," she said.

"Oh come on, Mom," Scott said.

"Oh, right. I forgot," she said as Logan pulled her over to him. "You're betting  _with_ him."

"I said within a year," Scott protested. "I'm not rushing." He paused. "Even if I'd be a great big brother - you have to admit," he teased.

She pointed a finger at him. "I know what you're doing. That's not nice."

Scott held up his hands. "What, letting you know you don't have to wait to spare my feelings?" he asked, his grin growing even wider. "I thought you wanted me to use my words, Mom."

She stared at him open mouthed at that. "I swear to God if you ask for a baby brother for Christmas I'm getting you a houseplant."

Scott burst out laughing at that and gave her a solid hug. "Love you too, Mom."

She wrapped him up tight and kissed his cheek again. "It's nice to see such a big smile, sweetheart. Really."

"Hey, the team is doing well and… well… I like this girl a lot. And I managed a minute and a half with no glow on Saturday. So…"

"She likes you a lot too," Logan said. "By the way." He paused and frowned to himself. "The glow … is it getting better the more you find out about that creep?"

"That's part of it, yeah," Scott admitted. "The professor thinks there was a secondary purpose in a lot of the telepathic blocks - that they aren't just blocking memories but access to my powers."

Logan nodded at that, frowning deeper as he weighed it out. "We're going to find out everything about that slimeball."

"You're not leaving already, are you?" Scott asked, finally frowning.

"No," Logan said, shaking his head. "Can't let Cap think we're running off to hide from him for one."

"Yeah, Lord knows  _if_ that ever happens I'm going to make him hold my hair back while I pinch the living daylights out of him for betting on me," K said.

"Better him than me," Scott said with a smirk.

"He started it. He gets to deal with it," K decided.

"And we didn't want to leave you hangin'," Logan said. "Team or no, we weren't planning on bein' gone that long."

"Yeah, I was starting to wonder if I needed to ask the Avengers to double check that you weren't in trouble," Scott admitted. "Thinking on the department… you know…."

"Got snowed in," Logan said. "Twice."

"That far north?" Scott asked.

Logan nodded. "One of my cabins," he said. "Things calm down with the department, I'll take you there."

Scott grinned. "That would be nice. Maybe for my birthday this year we could go fishing."

"It's in Alberta on the BC line," Logan said. "On the lake, mountain view. Not half bad all around."

"Yeah, then that's definitely what we should do this year," Scott said

"So long as we're not bein' followed, I'm game," Logan said. He gestured to Scott's uniform. "But you probably gotta what? Debrief a little don'tcha?"

"It was just a quick… no, but we should…"

Logan had raised one eyebrow at Scott's 'no'. "Always debrief. Makes it easier to spot patterns later."

"Yeah, okay, got it," Scott said quickly. "Good point."

"Unless … it's a totally black run," K said in a cough.

"We don't do those," Scott said. "We're - this team is different."

"Don't do what?" she asked, clearly trying to get a rise out of him by her most innocent expression.

Scott shook his head at her. "Yeah. Sure. I'm starting to think Bobby's right about the murder dress," he muttered.

"No one died," they both said at once.

"That's what I keep saying." Scott gestured at them both before he grinned and headed for the door. "Anyway… I'm glad you're back."

"Me too, Scotty," Logan said. "See you at coffee."

* * *

Over the last few weeks, the team was really starting to build up a rhythm. They were getting a little more confident every time they stopped a mob or rescued a kid - but they hadn't gone outside of the States except for Ororo's rescue mission.

That is, until the professor said that there was a mutant in need of help in Germany.

"East or West?" Scott asked.

"West," Charles replied. "This young man is near Munich, and I'm afraid the residents of the small village he's in now have turned against him. He's in a considerable amount of distress - more so than what I would expect from a few angry villagers."

Scott blew his breath out in a slow, controlled movement as he nodded his head. Germany could be tricky anyhow … politically, it was unstable on the Eastern side, but … As long as they didn't have to fly too close to the border, they'd probably be fine. But it wasn't overly far away from the USSR either. And that was an entirely different can of worms, too.

He took a moment to look over the map where the professor had circled the name of the little village, and with that, Scott looked up at his fellow teammates. "No time to waste. Especially if he's facing an angry mob."

"It's not a mob  _yet_ ," Charles clarified. "But I'm sure it's a matter of time. And I think … I'll come with you for this one. It may be necessary to cover his tracks."

Scott's eyebrows went up for just a moment, but he was honestly glad to hear it. Angry crowds - no matter the reason - weren't always easy to handle, and though Jean was good - she wasn't quite to the same level as the professor on wiping an experience like that from a crowd.

As always, Scott was in a great mood as he did his pre-flight and his team helped Charles into the jet. He would have liked to assist him himself, but … he couldn't help but respect that the team wanted to work together on everything… and if he'd done that  _and_ the preflight  _and_ the piloting … well it wouldn't be much of a team effort. And that was the whole point. For all of them to work together, not to rely on one person overmuch.

The flight to Germany was an easy one - the blackbird was fast, though it was cold at altitude … Scott made a note to put blankets in the plane for these longer missions. It wouldn't do them any good to step out into a fight half frozen - even if Bobby was perfectly comfortable.

It wasn't hard to find the mutant in distress once they landed, really. As Charles had said, it seemed like the entire village had turned out in what looked like an honest to goodness pitchfork-wielding mob.

The X-Men shared a glance when they saw the level of vitriol going on, especially as they got closer and they could hear the villagers talking about "demons" and other things that had the team frowning - at least until Bobby elbowed Warren with a smirk.

"Whatdya think - bet they'd back off if they saw you swooping in to 'deal with the demon problem'?"

"Seriously, Bobby?"

Bobby spread his hands out wide. "Hey, you knock it now, but I bet it would work."

"Only if you broke into a chorus when I came in," Warren deadpanned. "And I know you can't harmonize with everyone else."

"I'm sure he could sing the falsetto," Hank added with a smirk, just to turn the tables on Bobby for once.

"Oh shut up," Bobby grumbled Hank's way, though that just had the other boys snickering a bit.

Jean was sure to cover their arrival with a blanket psychic suggestion that had the townsfolk not really paying attention to them. It was a mild suggestion, and honestly one that was easier for her to control simply because for her, it was easier to go big than it was to focus on one thing and  _not_ do massive harm in the process. The group made their way along with the crowd, briskly walking to the center of the little village where they had the blue-black mutant more or less cornered. Or so they thought.

One second he was there, the next, he was across the square having disappeared and reappeared in an inky indigo cloud. "So … I'm going to have to drop the illusion, guys," Jean said. "If I reach out to him, it'll be easier if I'm not juggling two things at once."

"We'll just warm up the choir," Hank said with a little smirk.

Jean smirked at him, trying and failing to stifle a giggle, especially when Hank didn't pause more than a moment before he cleared his throat and started to hum. Which of course, only got Bobby more irked. One snowball later, Jean was carefully reaching out to their mystery mutant.  _Do you need help? We've come to get you away from the angry mob. We have a school and a safe haven for mutants. I'm Jean._

It was obvious in the tenor of the young man's mental voice how stressed he was as he glanced around himself.  _Where are you?_

_Look past the crowd, we were almost at the base of the last building you were on._

The young man took a moment to look around before he saw the group that obviously didn't look like they belonged there and frowned deeply.  _Why are you here?_

_You were in trouble,_ Jean projected to him then stumbled as one of the mob members bashed into her. She turned toward them looking irritated before she raised one hand to her head and turned toward the crowd, reaching out to put almost half of them to sleep. "Scott - I'm going to keep working on the crowd," she said quietly. "Charles said to try and make sure they forget what happened here if I can."

Scott nodded. "Switch jobs, then - I'll talk to him if you can tell him we won't hurt him."

Jean nodded and then took a moment to project exactly that to the young man - and explain that she was only putting them to sleep as Scott stepped forward so he didn't have to shout across the square.

"You can stop running - we're not going to hurt you, I swear."

There was a pause before the young man disappeared and then reappeared once more, closer but not within arm's reach of any of the X-Men. Though it was close enough to see  _why_ the villagers had the hang-ups they did, considering the young man's appearance - tail, pointed ears, glowing eyes, and foul-smelling smoke and all. "I doubt that you can help me," he said.

Scott shook his head at that. "We're all mutants too," he said, gesturing at himself and the other members of the team.

"Is that what you call it?" Kurt asked, gesturing to himself.

"Yeah, well, I know some of the other names you might have heard and I'd have gotten my mouth washed out with soap if I'd said that," Scott said with a quiet smirk.

"Yes, well. Thank you for putting them to sleep, though I'm not so sure there is a place for me to hide that they won't find me," he said in a heavy tone.

Scott shook his head. "Believe me, I know what that's like."

"I lived here peacefully for many years, performing in the circus," he said. "But this .. I'm afraid I brought it down on myself."

Scott let out a breath. "I swear, the school is safe. We can keep you safe."

"Yes, but I don't know that I deserve to go," he said. "Do you know what triggered them to act as they are?" His yellow eyes were wide, but he didn't give Scott a chance to answer. "I killed my brother. It was an accident of course … but the fact remains."

"What happened?" Scott asked with a frown. "If it was an accident-"

"He'd gone mad," he said. "And attacked me. I was trying to get him to  _stop_ … it shouldn't have happened." His voice was full of anguish, and it was clear to anyone listening he wasn't lying. No one could fake that kind of emotion.

Scott wasn't sure what to say other than that it obviously wasn't his fault if that was what happened, though it was, to his surprise, Storm who stepped past him, simply shaking her head with a gentle smile. "Why do you think that an act of self-defense disqualifies you from safety?" she asked, taking a few more steps until she was almost in arm's reach.

He looked up at her and shook his head lightly. "He was my  _brother._ "

"I heard you," Storm said, then did reach out and put a hand on his shoulder. "Would you like to mourn in private?" she asked gently. "I'd understand entirely - and we would all give you the space you need."

"I should tell our mother," he said. "And my sister …"

"Please, lead the way," Storm said with a kind smile.

For a moment, he simply took the group in, then cleared his throat before he stepped back and bowed slightly. "You don't have to go, but I have been rude." His voice was still shaking slightly. "I am known as Nightcrawler." It was clear he was a showman - though his bow obviously wasn't to normal standards, all things considered as he turned - his tail almost dragging behind him as he started toward the forest's edge where a light was glowing in an old gypsy wagon. "I would like to tell Margali alone."

"Of course," Storm said. "But before I forget my manners…" She smiled a bit and pulled in some fog so the chat would really be in private. "Call me Storm."

He gave her a weak smile as he led the way, though before they got all the way to the wagon, a figure appeared in the doorway. Nightcrawler gave Storm a significant look and teleported ahead, reappearing, head bowed as he told the woman what had happened. The X-Men stayed back while the conversation took place, though it was easy to catch the crying and shocked tones from both women even from as far back as they were.

"Uh oh," Jean muttered before she simply started to walk toward the little family. She was close enough to see that Margali had horns and looked furious in her sorrow before she reached out to both women and Nightcrawler, closed her eyes and simply projected the events of the night to both women for the full picture. Especially since what she'd caught his mother projecting wasn't in any language she'd ever heard, and the woman's appearance was shifting in front of her.

Margali had frozen, and both women were staring at Nightcrawler, the tears simply flowing on their own, but instead of the rage they were both building to, the women rushed forward to wrap him up in a tight hug, the three of them quietly mourning for a long moment just like that.

When it seemed they were starting to at least try to get a hold of themselves, Storm glanced toward Scott, but he tipped his head - she had built up a better rapport with Nightcrawler than he had. She let out a breath and stepped forward through some of the fog toward the little family.

"I'm terribly sorry about your loss," she said gently. "I know it can't be easy for any of you. But I wanted to offer safe sanctuary for you, Nightcrawler - away from any mobs like the one we just stopped."

He looked toward her, and Margali rested her hand on the side of his head. "It's probably better this way," she said. "The villagers will come again and my work here isn't yet done."

"It's not a permanent separation," Storm clarified. "A couple of our students visit family all the time, and Cyclops' family lives on the campus." She held out her hands. "We're our own little family, but we won't ignore the families we came from either."

Margali nodded then gave him a kiss on the temple before his sister rushed over to take a longer moment to hug him tightly - though their conversation wasn't loud enough to be heard.

Finally, he moved to join the rest of the X-Men, though Storm didn't even think about it before she had a comforting hand on his shoulder as they headed back for the blackbird. Since it was clear he was still shaken, they gave the newcomer a bit of space until they were in the air - and then Storm gave him a brief introduction to everyone, using both their codenames and real names and giving him a short overview of what everyone could do.

"Ah, well, I was known as the Amazing Nightcrawler," he said almost shyly. "But my name is Kurt Wagner. As you already saw - I can move from one place to the next rather uniquely."

"Which must really come in handy," Bobby said with a smirk. "Free get out of jail free pass for anything. Awkward date… angry mob…"

"As you can see - it doesn't always work like you think it does," Kurt said. "I can only go to somewhere I can see. I try to keep from being trapped inside walls and such."

"Has that ever happened?" Hank asked, genuinely curious as he leaned forward.

"Only once," Kurt said. "I learned my lesson quickly."

"Well, maybe you'll be able to go farther with some practice," Warren put in. "We've all been learning to improve-"

Bobby let out a cough that sounded like "Stretch our wings."

"Oh, man that was awful," Warren said, rolling his eyes.

"It was just sitting there - what did you expect?" Bobby shot back.

"Please, ignore them," Jean said as they got settled into the jet.

"Heaven knows the rest of us do," Hank put in.

"Except when we encourage them and watch them self-destruct," Storm said, raising an eyebrow Hank's way.

"Scientific research," Hank said straight-faced. "I've always been interested in spontaneous combustion."

"Seriously," Jean said, though she was biting back a smirk of her own. "They're just… like this."

"Something else they need to work on," Charles said, giving Bobby and Hank a significant look. He took a moment to introduce himself, and then quietly launched into his vision for mutantkind, filled with the bright-eyed hope that only Charles could truly express. "Of course, before you commit, I'd like very much if you tried our little group out first."

Kurt still looked fairly overwhelmed, though he nodded slowly as he listened to everything that Charles had to say. "I think," he said slowly, "that it would be very nice - what you say." His tail was swaying slightly, the first time it hadn't been dragging. "It's a far cry from what I have seen."

"Hopefully, we can change that," Charles said gently.

Kurt nodded. "I would like that very much."

* * *

When they got back to the Institute, Scott volunteered to show him around, as he often did for the newcomers, but they didn't even get to the staircase before they were distracted. Apparently, it was Logan and K's turn to feed the group, though how Scott had missed that was a little beyond him. It was the first time in quite a while that Logan was making anything, and if he was being honest about it - he kind of missed the competition between the two of them when they were cooking.

But the entertaining part wasn't that they were getting the first class dinner - it was the simple fact that his parents were  _shamelessly_ flirting back and forth, and when Scott called out to say hello, the two of them were wrapped up in a kiss - that they didn't break but to wave his way.

"It's a good night to come here," Scott promised Kurt. "I swear they can do more than what they're doing now."

But Kurt looked perfectly entertained. "And these are your parents,  _ja_?" he asked.

Scott couldn't help but grin as he nodded. "Yep," he said before he called out, "So, what's for dinner - or should we leave you two alone to let me win the bet?"

K's head whipped to his direction. "Oh. So you want me to throw things now, do you?"

Logan was much more relaxed about it though. "Venison with cherry," he said. "It's someone's favorite. Now you know. So you can leave."

Scott just grinned a little wider. "See you at dinner then," he said. "Great way to introduce Kurt to the cuisine around here - he'll never think anything else matches up," he added with an obviously teasing grin.

"Not my fault," Logan replied. "Coulda been burgers and beer, but apparently there're too many kids to pull that off right."

"No, no, this is much better," Scott said, in too good of a mood to censor his thoughts before he added, "reminds me of home," as he was already pulling Kurt by the shoulders to continue the tour.

"So … may I ask … what is the bet?" Kurt asked quietly.

Scott was still grinning and did a bit of a double-take before he let out a sort of self-deprecating chuckle. "Oh, that… that's mostly just to tease Mom because she teases the rest of us so hard," he explained.

"It seemed to do the trick," Kurt said, smirking.

"Well, they just got married recently, so half their friends were asking if there was a baby involved, and it just sort of… grew from there." Scott quickly held up his hands. "There isn't, by the way. But it's a running gag."

"Your dad doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all," Kurt said, smiling a little wider himself.

Scott broke into a wide grin. "Nope, he sure doesn't."

Kurt matched Scott's grin as they fell back into the tour, and he was pleased to see that he wasn't put in a room far apart from the others. "This room … is bigger than our whole wagon was," Kurt said.

Scott raised an eyebrow at that but nodded. "The professor said it's an old family home… I guess you could call it a manor house before it was converted to a school."

"It feels like a castle," Kurt said as he turned slowly taking in the room.

Scott couldn't help but smile at that and nodded. "Well, I'm just down the hall… and don't worry if you get lost. Every one of us got turned around in here at one point or another, so no one will tease you for it."

" _Wunderbar_ ," Kurt said, letting out a breath. "If I know where I am going, I can usually get there on my own. But I try not to risk it if there are other people there already."

Scott smiled a little wider. "Hey, no one here is going to kick you out of anywhere," he said. "You're part of the school. Go wherever you want." He paused. "Well… not the boathouse. That's where my parents stay."

" _Ja._  No reason to interrupt a good bet in progress," Kurt said, still smiling.

Scott laughed outright at that. "Exactly."

* * *

Kurt was fitting in well with the group, and things were starting to get into a pattern for everyone when of course, the team found themselves going to break up a Friends of Humanity gathering that was specifically targeting a few very young mutants. It was clear that they were all physically mutated, but they were also tiny, so the team went in to break up the hate rally before someone went too far with a few  _kids._

It was one of the first rallies they'd broken up properly, but they did it with such a practiced ease, that even the press was having trouble discounting the professional way that the X-men were handling even the most vocal and borderline violent crowd members.

And it was just a matter of sheer luck, and good timing that the reporter came up to Scott shortly after he'd helped an elderly gentleman that was part of the Friends of Humanity crowd to his feet after he'd been bashed over by his fellow rioters. The old man looked more than a little confused as he found himself face to face with Scott, but it was clear that Scott wasn't holding a grudge against him. And it was on live broadcast, even if Scott didn't know it.

He'd made sure the old man was upright and steady before he let go of his elbow, and the old man, gave him a dirty look, then shouted at him 'abomination!' before he left Scott standing there, though his only response was to lock his jaw slightly as the reporter flipped the lights on in his face.

"What exactly is this group of yours trying to do Mr …"

It took a second for Scott to adjust to the fact that there was a reporter in his face - since that had never happened before - before he seemed to try to straighten up a bit. "Cyclops," he said. "And my team - the X-Men - we're just trying to help. We don't want anyone getting hurt just because of the way they were born."

"Even when they're so clearly seeking out ways to keep dangerous mutants away from the general public?" the reporter asked. "What is it the X-Men are trying to do?"

Scott frowned at the way the reporter had phrased it. "What are you talking about - the  _kids_ they were rounding up? Not one of them was older than ten. I'm not sure what 'dangerous mutants' you're referring to, but it wasn't anyone we saw today."

"Certainly not the ones on the stage today, no," he corrected. "But what the Friends of Humanity are trying to push is a means of registration at the least, though my sources have shown me more aggressive measures. The point, Cyclops, is that we know what they want. My question is what is it you want? Is this group like some of the other upstart mutant groups out there - or … what is your philosophy?"

Scott tipped his head toward the reporter for a moment before he took a breath and held it. "The point," he said slowly, "is peace. That's all." He shook his head. "The X-Men - we're trying to show the world that mutants can be a force for good. We want to help where we can - anyone who needs help - and prove that humans and mutants can live together without all … this." He gestured behind him to what was left from the rally. "We just want to make a world where  _peace_ is a reality - regardless of your genes."

The reporter nodded and gestured to the mask Scott was wearing. "And the masks? Is it safe to assume this is your best protection against more violent opposition?"

Scott nodded. "I wish it wasn't true that there were people who'd like nothing more than to come after us just for being mutants, but …" He gestured openly. "Well, that's the whole point of us. Maybe one day when people see the yellow uniforms they'll stop thinking 'mutants' and thinking instead that help is on the way. Maybe that's naive, but that's the hope."

The reporter smiled at him and nodded. "Thank you for your time, Cyclops. We'll back up to finish our spot while you and your team get to work then."

Cyclops nodded at that. "Thanks," he said before he did, in fact, turn back to help the rest of his team - which was great for the B roll, too, since one of the little kids was riding Hank's shoulders as they cleaned up and another little boy who was a bright green color was completely  _entranced_ with Kurt's physical mutation too as Kurt crouched to his level to talk with him. All around, the team came out looking like the heroes Scott was trying to explain that they wanted to be.

When the team returned - little kids in tow, Scott barely made it out of the jet before he was hit back a few steps as K wrapped him up in a tight hug and kissed his cheek. "You did so well, Caramel Mocha," she said. "The interview made the news. They're all calling you by your call sign, and it's hard for them to say you're being evil when you have Hank in the background playing jungle gym."

Scott couldn't help but smirk at that and looked over his shoulder to where Hank still had a couple of the kids - the ones who didn't have a place to go - hanging onto his shoulders. "Well, you know. Sometimes actions speak louder."

"And yet you were so eloquent," she said. "Looks like you just need a camera and a bright light to use your words better."

Scott gave her a dry look for that. "He caught me off-guard…"

"Sweetheart, I'm saying you did well. I'm tickled for you and your Dad has been smirking since the broadcast."

That got Scott to smile a little more. "Yeah?"

"Oh yeah," she said, nodding. "He and Charles are upstairs watching the continued coverage. Both of them are very pleased."

Scott's smile widened. "Well… good," he said before he gave her a little squeeze as well. "Think this will help the team?" he asked. "I mean, really… I just want the team to do well."

"If anything will - it's this. Just keep doing what you're doing. You're all doing great so far. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before you hear from your 'uncles'."

"If it's on the news, I'm surprised Jan isn't here already," Scott said dryly.

"I'm sure she's on her way over," K said airly.

Scott smiled at that. "Do you really think…" He paused and shook his head. "We'll see, I guess."

When the group got to the main floor, It was pretty clear that it was no longer just the mansion residents. Jan was bouncing in place - her hands clasped under her chin - and right behind her was both Steve and Tony - both of them looking perfectly proud of the group.

"Oh, um, hi," Scott said, shooting his mom a sort of 'why didn't you tell me' look when he realized half the Avengers were there to greet his team.

"We had to come and congratulate you on a successful first press conference. Or … close enough to it," Steve said, smiling crookedly. "And … Jan wanted to hug you."

"Tackle, she wanted to flatten every one of them," Tony corrected as Jan launched herself at Scott.

Scott barely caught Jan in time and couldn't help but smile. "I didn't realize getting surprised by a reporter was such a big deal."

"It wasn't getting surprised - it was how well you  _handled it_ ," she clarified, giving him another squeeze before darting over to Jean, who was closest, to give her a crushing hug as well. "You guys were so good!"

Jean couldn't stop her grin either as she hugged Jan right back. "You really think so?"

"Dude, the Avengers showed up in force to say we did good - we did  _great_ ," Bobby put in.

Steve stepped forward with Tony, as Jan made her rounds, and while Tony talked up Hank, Steve put his arm around Scott's shoulders with a grin. "Seriously, keep up the good work. This isn't easy to do, but this was a great introduction to the public at large."

"Thanks," Scott said, still unable to stop his smile. "That - that means a lot."

And when Steve moved on, and Scott took a few steps back - watching his team soak up the glow, Logan simply came to stand next to him. "Keep it up and you're gonna break your face grinnin', kiddo."

"Hey, the  _Avengers_ came to say my team is doing well. Tell me that's not worth breaking my face," he shot back.

Logan was smirking as he nodded. "Not a bad excuse. And you really did do just fine."

Scott grinned at that and then simply pulled Logan into a hug that Logan returned with a chuckle. "Thanks, Dad."

* * *

**So. This ... is the end of this volume, though I hate to see it end because honestly, that's like ... best. title. ever. AH WELL. KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN for 'Welcome To The X-Men, We Hope You Survive The Experience' or as much of that as I can display. Whatever.**


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